Video Shows Car Blow Stop Light, Crash Into Kankakee River Before Police Quickly Swarm Area
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A body has been found in a car that crashed through a guard rail and into the Kankakee River, according to the Kankakee Fire Chief.
During the search Thursday afternoon, first responders faced challenges trying to recover the car and person.
Video CBS 2's Steven Graves got from a nearby business suggests the crash was no accident.
For much of the afternoon it became a neighborhood spectacle with people on both sides of the Kankakee River watching the painstaking search for the car as Mother Nature posed challenges for first responders.
"We had quite a bit of rain in this area the last week or so," said Kankakee Fire Chief Damon Schuldt. "So the current is moving quickly."
People watched in shock, many confused about how this happened.
Video obtained by CBS 2 provides clues. In the moments before, the car can be seen speeding through the intersection of Indiana Avenue and River Street. It blows right through the red light like a bullet headed toward the river. About a minute later police show up and swarm the area.
The crash happened so fast around 9 a.m. Thursday neighbors say they didn't hear or see a thing.
Fire-rescue crews were treating the scene as a recovery effort before confirming the driver was still in the car.
"And we're making the assumption it's one person but we have not been able to confirm that," Schuldt said.
Before finding the car, crews said they were focusing efforts in an area where using a drone they saw gasoline in the water.
CBS 2 has yet to hear from police about their specific involvement in the investigation.
