SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) – UPDATE: The body of one of two missing people who were trapped in a car with four others in a crash has been recovered.
Sherman police cannot confirm the identity or age of the victim at this time. The family of these victims have been notified.
Full Story:
Around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday on Christmas Eve, Sherman fire and police dispatched after they received a 911. Lieutenant Samuel Boyle says the dangers escalated as rain pour came down.
“A vehicle had left the roadway and got caught in the drainage ditch around U.S.-75 and Taylor Street,” said Boyle.
A white Chevrolet Traverse was carried by strong waters southbound, alongside the U.S.-75 service road and stopped just before Houston Street, where six people were trapped inside.
The four rescued from the SUV were taken to Sherman Medical Center and all are expected to survive. Authorities spent the day searching for the other missing two. One body was recovered just before 5 p.m., the other remains missing. No names or ages have been released.
First responders rushed to locate unaccounted for passengers Tuesday morning. Searching anywhere the rising water current flowed, breaking off into neighboring creeks. Boyle says the search-area is far and wide.
“It goes all the way down to the area where everybody likes to hunt for shark teeth,” said Boyle. “It kind of widens out there a little bit so the water slows down some.”
Boyle says the efforts of Sherman fire and police, the Texas Game Warden, Texas state and Texas DPS troopers are focused on finding everyone involved.
“We’ll keep going as far south as we need to until we can locate the two missing people,” said Boyle.
This is not the first fatality crash off U.S.-75 in Sherman during a flash flood. An Anna woman died in 2020 and a newlywed Arkansas couple were killed in 2021.
Boyle says the drainage ditch is operated by the Texas Department of Transportation and could use an extra safety measure such as a guardrail to prevent hydroplaning from ending in tragedy.
The cause of Tuesday’s crash remains under investigation.
“It likely had to do with a large accumulation of water and maybe some hydroplaning, which is a very dangerous situation,” said Boyle. “Once they’re in that drainage ditch, they’re really at the mercy of the water flow and the speed at which that’s going down. it’s a tragedy, it really is.”
As the search continues, Boyle’s message to all drivers in wet or flooding conditions is to drive safe and not take the risk.
“Please drive very carefully,” said Boyle. “Even if you think your vehicle can make it through some large standing water, please consider going around and taking another route because once you hit that standing water, you’ve really lost control of your vehicle.”
Original Story:
Four people have been rescued and two are missing after a vehicle crashed off US-75 into a drainage ditch during Tuesday morning’s heavy rains. Sherman Police said a vehicle left the roadway near Taylor Street around 9:30 a.m. and became trapped in the flooded drainage ditch, then traveled down the creek toward the Houston/Lamar Street exit. Four of the six occupants have been rescued, and two are missing as of 1 p.m. Several first responders are stationed alongside the creek searching for those missing two people. This is a developing story. Stay with News 12 for updates.
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