UPDATE: San Mateo County Coroner Identifies Couple Who Drowned in Millbrae Flood Waters
SAN MATEO COUNTY (CBS SF) -- The San Mateo County Coroner's Office on Monday identified the couple who were found dead inside a submerged vehicle in a flooded underpass in Millbrae during last week's storm.
The coroner's office said said the victims were 63-year-old Rolando Ortigas Glorioso and 62-year-old Susana Glorioso, both of Millbrae.
Authorities additionally confirmed they were a married couple. The pair tragically died last Thursday in floodwaters during the storm that inundated the Bay Area with rain.
A spokesman for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said firefighters responded at about 5:45 a.m. to reports of flooding at Hemlock Ave. and E. Hillcrest Blvd. in Millbrae, where E. Hillcrest passes under Caltrain tracks.
Tragic incident here in Millbrae this morning. San Mateo County Sheriff's Office says two people are dead after the car they were in submerged in a flooded area on Hillcrest & Hemlock. Details at 12 pm on @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/veVdYjNO1E
— Jocelyn Moran (@jocelynamoran) December 23, 2021
"Upon arrival, they noticed a person standing on the roof of a vehicle. The fire department entered the water to rescue the person in the vehicle. While doing that they realized that there was a second vehicle in the water," said Sheriff's Detective Javier Acosta. "So after they rescued the first person, they tried to gain access to the vehicle in the water. However, the conditions changed rapidly and it became too dangerous for the responders. The water was rising very rapidly and they had to retreat."
Acosta said it took several hours for crews to drain water in the area, and once firefighters were able to access the second vehicle they found two people deceased inside.
"At this time we don't know exactly what happened," said Acosta. "However, there was heavy rain this morning."
Raw Video: San Mateo County Sheriff's spokesman on discovery of two bodies in submerged car
The flooded location was one of several low-lying areas in San Mateo County flooded by an overnight rainstorm. The National Weather Service had issued a flood advisory for the area and warned some low-water crossings may be impassable.
"We are responding to multiple flooding calls across the coastal area in San Mateo County," Cal Fire officials said earlier Thursday morning.
E. Hillcrest Blvd. between Hemlock and Aviador avenues was closed off for hours during the investigation. Just after 2 p.m. on Thursday, the sheriff's office said Hillcrest had been reopened in both directions.