Update, 12:40 p.m.: Divers will wait until Monday afternoon to inspect and recover the vehicle, Jimmy Edwards, Emergency Medical Services director, told Clarksville Now.
Conditions are too hazardous today to attempt the dive and recovery operation.
Previously:
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A car veered off of Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, hit a utility pole and crashed into the Red River early this morning.
At about 2:32 a.m., Clarksville Police Sgt. Del Giorno was driving down Wilma Rudolph Boulevard near the Red River bridge and noticed the power lines down across the roadway and that the utility pole was snapped off, according to a news release from police spokesman Scott Beaubien.
Upon further investigation, he noticed vehicle debris near the side of the bridge leading down toward the river, and believed that there might be a vehicle in the Red River.
Clarksville Fire Rescue was notified and they put their boat in the water to search for a possible vehicle. At about 3:55 am, they located a vehicle under the water using sonar.
“Based on the river’s current, visibility, weather conditions and the safety of rescue personnel, a dive team will attempt to recover the vehicle as soon as possible,” Beaubien said, adding that this appears to be a weather related crash. Roads were already slick at the time.
The bridge was closed for a few hours overnight, but the road is now back open.
No further information has been released, including on the driver or any possible passengers.
Lee Erwin contributed to this report.