2 killed as floodwaters swamp vehicle in San Francisco underpass
Police say the two had driven into the deep waters that had collected underneath an overpass and became trapped.
Two people dead in California after car submerged by flooding
Two people pass away in Millbrae, California Thursday after their vehicle became submerged in flood waters. (Video: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco)
MILLBRAE, Calif. -- Two people died Thursday morning during heavy rains in the San Francisco area as their car became trapped and submerged in standing water at a flooded underpass.
San Mateo County Sheriff's Detective Javier Acosta told KTVU FOX 2 in San Francisco that the pair had driven through a lot of water at Hemlock Avenue and Hillcrest Boulevard about 5:45 a.m.
"The water was rising rapidly," he told the station, noting that the rain was coming down heavily at that hour of the morning. Nearby San Francisco Airport reported 1.35 inches of rain in the three hours around the accident.
Acosta said firefighters didn't initially see the pair submerged in the water. Rescuers were first called to rescue another person standing atop the roof of a nearby car. It was only after that person was saved and the water eventually drained from the underpass that the bodies of the other two trapped in their submerged car were discovered.
Their names have not been released.
California fire chief on floods: Do not go near standing water
CAL FIRE chief Jon Heggie on keeping people safe amid widespread rain in California.
The rain caused havoc throughout the Bay Area. In the North Bay, a rockslide along Muir Woods Road blocked the street, while Highway 1 had standing water near Half Moon Bay Airport.
In Oakland, Highway 13 was blocked due to a fallen tree. The National Weather Service received multiple other reports of street flooding across the Bay Area.
The Bay Area expects a break in the rain on Friday, but additional moderate to heavy rainfall will return over the weekend.