A tragic repeat played out New Year's morning when a man's body was pulled from a submerged car in a Davie canal at the same spot where a 19-year-old woman lost her life nine years ago.
Only the rooftop of the white Lexus could be seen above the waterline Thursday when divers from the Broward Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene between Griffin Road and Orange Drive just west of Flamingo Road.
Rescue crews quickly confirmed a deceased person was inside, said Sgt. Ed Smith, of the Davie Police Department.
Smith later identified Carlos Alberto Mena, 50, of Weston, as the only person in the car. Mena, known as Chaz, had last been seen about 2:30 a.m., Smith said.
When a relative of Mena's was reached by telephone late Thursday afternoon, she declined to comment.
"It's not the right time," she said before hanging up.
Chuck Kraus, 64, of Davie, called 911 after spotting the car in the canal as he drove by shortly after 9 a.m. At the time, he didn't know the car was occupied.
"I sure hope no one is in there," Kruaus told reporters at the scene. "That's no way to start 2015."
When DonnaLee Layer happened upon the scene Thursday morning, she was astonished to see that Mena's car had plowed over the memorial crosses that marked the site where her daughter, Lindsay, died in July 2005.
"They got ran over, my daughter's crosses were right there," Layer said pointing. "It went into the same exact spot, the same exact spot!"
Lindsay was on a pizza run in 2005 when the car she was a passenger in collided with another vehicle and skidded into the canal two miles from her home.
Passers-by dived into the water and pulled Lindsay Layer and the driver from the sunken car. The driver was in serious condition and Lindsay, a straight-A Florida State University student, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Distraught and snuggling a small dog to her chest, DonnaLee Layer feared the worst this time, too.
"But tell me, is everybody OK?" she asked. Upon hearing a body was likely in the car, her face fell: "Aw, no, no."
The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
Mena had been traveling east on Orange Drive when the accident occurred, Smith said.
"Roadway evidence suggests that his vehicle drove off of the road onto the grass shoulder, then continued east until striking a sign and a guardrail," Smith said. "It appears that the vehicle then rotated and drove into the canal."
Detectives urge anyone with information about the accident to contact the Davie Police Department at 954-693-8200.
tealanez@tribune.com, 954-356-4542 or Twitter @talanez
Copyright © 2015, Sun SentinelSource : http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-thursday-car-in-canal-20150101-story.html
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