Woman Killed When Car Crashes Off Route 3 Into Plymouth River

PLYMOUTH (CBS) – A woman died Monday when her car plunged off Route 3 and into a river in Plymouth. It happened just before 1 p.m.

The woman was driving on Route 3 South in the vicinity of the Jordan River bridge when her car went off the road and landed upside down in the Eel River.

The first firefighters and police officers on the scene jumped in the muddy river to manually flip the car back over in an attempt to save her.

The woman's car was in about four feet of water.

"We started getting 911 calls, we got multiple after a while, 12:47 this afternoon for a car that had gone off the road and crashed in the woods and was in Eel River, in the water," said Plymouth Fire Chief Ed Bradley.

Bradley happened to be nearby and arrived at the scene within minutes to find some crews already there. "We were able to all get into the water and get the car from on its roof up onto its side so they could get access to the patient," he explained. "It was probably 10 Plymouth police officers and a few firefighters, myself and the police chief, anybody that was available was there.

Firefighters pronounced the woman dead at the scene.

No one else was in the car and no other cars were involved.

The left lane of Route 3 was closed while crews work to remove the woman and her car. The vehicle was lifted out of the river after 2 p.m., and traffic reopened all lanes by 3 p.m.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.