Terrifying moment road floods '15ft high' killing man and woman trapped in car
This is the terrifying moment a road under a bridge flooded - submerging a car in which a man and woman tragically died.
Emergency services raced to rescue the pair from the black Mercedes Class 180 in Mossley Hill, Liverpool on Saturday night, but they later died in hospital. Merseyside Police is now investigating the accident, which happened in a community which has experienced flooding in the past.
Rebecca Wilson, who was travelling along the road when her taxi nearly went into the floods, said the water was around 15ft high. She captured footage of what appears to be a burst pipe, saying: "All of a sudden it looked like a waterfall coming down from the side of the bridge."
Residents have now expressed concern over the dip underneath the bridge, which they say is prone to flooding during heavy downpours, and called for the local council to take action. One person wrote on Facebook: "Very serious tragic news and thoughts go out to the family, and now isn't it about time the council did something about these roads? Same road always floods."
Rebecca Wilson captured footage of what appears to be a burst pipe (Rebecca Wilson/Liverpool Echo)Another posted: "Unfortunately last time it flooded locals were responsible for putting out cones to prevent motorists going down", while a third said: "Don't Liverpool City Council think it's time to do something about this dip under the bridge? No signage or extra drainage. It's regularly flooding with heavy rain."
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Eyewitnesses had described seeing a car submerged in water in the road. Rebecca told the Liverpool Echo: "As I looked back out of the window I turned to my mates and told them I thought I had just seen red lights under the water and I thought maybe someone had become stuck. I rang the police just to be safe.
"The water just came out of nowhere and the rain was so heavy that night and a part of me just wished I had turned back and gone home. It was terrifying and I just thought I was seeing things at first and then I saw on the news that there was a car in there this morning.
Merseyside Police is now investigating the accident (Jason Roberts photography)"The water was gushing down like a waterfall and it was tonnes and tonnes of water. It looked like a burst dam and I think it must have been 15ft high right at the bottom of the dip." Others living around the area told how the road has long been a problem.
One man spoke about the heavy rain that led to the flooding, saying: "I've never seen it that bad. That's the deepest I've ever seen it. It was absolutely lashing it down. Rarely have I seen it rain that bad. But nearly every time it rains they seem to have to close the road."
The tragedy happened when Liverpool, in addition to the surrounding area, was subject to a yellow weather warning as forecasters anticipated up to 50mm of rain to fall overnight. Another neighbour said: "It floods every time you have torrential rain. In the last 6 months there have been at least two cars stuck. There is nothing leading it to warn people of the flooding."
Police are now appealing for witnesses after the car got into difficulty at around 9.20pm. Officers remained at the scene yesterday morning. Detective Chief Inspector Mike Dalton, of Merseyside Police, said: “Our thoughts go out to the family of the man and woman who sadly lost their lives in this tragic incident, despite the best efforts of passing members of the public, our officers and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services at the scene.
Police officers remained at the scene yesterday morning (Jason Roberts photography)“We are at the early stages of an ongoing investigation on Queens Drive to establish the circumstances of this tragic incident. Road closures remain in the area as we continue with this investigation and motorists are advised to avoid the road."
"We are continuing to appeal to anyone who was on Queens Drive, between North Mossley Hill Road and Dovedale Road at around 9.20pm last night and saw the accident, or who stopped to try and help or anyone who had any dashcam footage from their car to come forward as soon as possible. Similarly, if you live in the area and have any doorbell or CCTV footage from last night please share this with us. Thank you for your patience whilst we deal with this tragic incident."
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: "This was a tragic incident and our thoughts are with those involved and their families. Council officers from highways and City Watch supported the emergency services in responding. The road is expected to remain closed for some time while an investigation takes place, and motorists are asked to continue to avoid the area."
The Mirror has contacted the council for further comment.
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Anyone with information on this incident is urged to call the force's Matrix Roads Policing Unit on (0151) 777 5747 or contact @MerPolCC on Twitter or Merseyside Police Contact Centre on Facebook quoting reference 23000807137.
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