A father and his 1-year-old son died over the weekend after the vehicle they were in plunged into a river in Pennsylvania.
Police officials said that the vehicle containing Derek Marshall, 29, was spotted speeding before his body was recovered from the Susquehanna River on the afternoon of March 23, along with that of his son Maddox.
It wasn’t clear how fast the vehicle was traveling at the time of the crash, whether the crash was accidental.
Just minutes after the police officer lost sight of the vehicle he got a call about someone in the river, prompting a large response, reported WNEP.
Marshall’s girlfriend and the mother of Maddox, 31-year-old Emily Hoey, was able to escape the sinking vehicle and swim to shore.
Bodies of Father and Infant Pulled from Susquehanna River https://t.co/9KD8eXAXw4 pic.twitter.com/TxTMYJeVYH
— WNEP (@WNEP) March 24, 2019
“We got up there and there was a whole bunch of search and rescue boats all over the Susquehanna River and there was a lady that was over there telling people that someone went into the river,” https://t.co/opSXtRr6hZ
— WPMT FOX43 (@fox43) March 24, 2019
Police told the Morning Times that Marshall was driving the car, a 2007 Honda CVS coupe, when it crashed into the river.
Community members said they were saddened by the deaths.
“I was very devastated,” Gloria Lincoln of Athens told WNEP. “Very devastated. It brings tears to my eyes because it’s so sad.”
“It breaks your heart because you know it could be your neighbor,” Sayre resident George Crowell told Fox 56.
VICTIMS IDENTIFIED: The bodies of 29-year-old Derek Marshall and his 1-year-old son Maddox, both of Athens, were found in the river this afternoon.https://t.co/ylhptK19aP
— Viktoria Hallikäär (@ViktoriaKrista) March 24, 2019
A day after rescue crews pulled the bodies a father and his one-year-old son from the Susquehanna River near Athens, community members say they are heartbroken about what happened late Friday night. https://t.co/2m2cl0tnyG
— WNEP (@WNEP) March 25, 2019
Others said that Sheshequin Road, where Marshall was spotted speeding before plunging into the river, is a dangerous road that some people avoid altogether, citing the need for a guardrail on some sections.
“It’s windy, and it’s kind of narrow,” Frederick Wasielewski of Sayre told WNEP. “It’s not as narrow as it used to be. It’s a little bit safer now, but still, I would go the speed limit.”
The road isn’t safe to speed on, locals said.
“If the guy was speeding, he shouldn’t have been,” added Lincoln. “He had a small child in the car.”
