Crew locates car that plunged into the Schuylkill on Kelly Drive; driver missing

The driver of a four-door sedan veered off Kelly Drive early Friday morning, plunging the car into the Schuylkill, police said.

Rescue crews located the vehicle hours later, but have not yet found any trace of the driver or any passengers as they continue to scour the water.

The car went into the river around 3:45 a.m. off Kelly Drive near the Girard Avenue Bridge, police said. A witness told NBC10 that he saw the car reverse at a high speed, break through a rope, and go into the water.

The Philadelphia Police Marine Unit found the car about 25 to 30 feet underwater just before 7:30 a.m., authorities said.

Police said they believe at least one person was inside the car at the time it went into the water — it was unclear if there were any passengers — but rescue crews have yet to find any occupants of the vehicle. Rescue efforts remain underway, according to police.

The car’s plunge into the river marked the second incident to occur on or near Kelly Drive in less than 24 hours.

Shortly before 3:30 p.m. Thursday, a 41-year-old man was killed in a three-vehicle crash on the roadway near the Strawberry Mansion Bridge — less than half a mile from where the car veered into the river, police said.

A black Nissan Altima had been driving south on Kelly Drive and tried to make an illegal left turn at Reservoir Drive, police said, when a white Nissan Rogue struck the vehicle, causing it to spin and hit a black BMW.

The 41-year-old man, a passenger in the Altima, whose name was not released, was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:02 p.m. Thursday, police said. The driver of the Altima, a 44-year-old man, was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center with minor injuries.

On Friday, police identified the passenger who died in the crash as Steven Tyree Moultrie.