SPRINGDALE, Pa. (KDKA) — For about four hours Sunday morning, several crews, including the Murrysville Medical and Dive team, worked to get this car out of the Allegheny River.
(Photo Credit: Chris Hoffman/KDKA)
It was about 200 yards downriver from the Springdale Borough boat ramp.
“Depending on well the vehicle is sealed. It will float for awhile so depending on when it went in and what the current was like. It can actually push it a good ways,” diver Darrick Gerano said.
It is believed to have been in the water for a few months to a year.
According to the Springdale Borough Police Chief George Polnar, the Army Corp of Engineers found it three weeks ago.
Dive teams were called in to check it out. Due to the murky water, they couldn’t tell if there was a body inside or not. They decided to get the car out and check.
“The divers were afraid, rightfully so, to go in the vehicle in case there was any evidence. They couldn’t really tell if there was anybody in there or not,” Chief Polnar said.
Police and divers found no body inside. They believe the car was set on fire and dumped into the river.
“There was a single ignition key in the ignition. The vehicle was in neutral. Surmise to the fact they set it on fire here at the base of the marina, just pushed it into the river, and it landed where it landed,” Chief Polnar said.
The biggest challenge was dealing with the river current for divers.
“It seemed every time we got everything in place, the river wanted to relocate it for us,” Gerano said.
Investigators will use the car’s serial number to try and find the owner.