PORTLAND -- A woman who died early Friday morning after driving into the Willamette River was identified Saturday morning.
Police said 48-year-old Lynne M. Salvi, of Eugene, drove through Salmon Street Springs, through the seawall, and into the river. Emergency responders found her body inside the car. She was thought to be alone, according to Portland police.
Fire Bureau divers entered the water about 3 a.m. A diver told KGW that the car was spotted in part because the headlights were still on. The car was upside down. The river is about 34 feet deep at that spot.
She was pulled from the water at about 3:30 and given CPR. The woman could not be revived.
Her official cause of death was not determined, but the medical examiner was still investigating.
"Nothing like this, you know to my knowledge, in my 20-year history around the police bureau, has happened like this," Portland Lt. Robert King said. "And there’s certain environmental features that we would think would play a role that would keep something like this from happening."
"The sea wall, you know is that particular portion of the wall I’m told as much as 100 years old, but it’s designed for pedestrians and to keep people back and safe, so it’s not designed for
vehicles ... because I don’t think that we anticipated that a vehicle could or would drive through it," he added.
City crews were working to repair the seawall.
Courtesy KGW.com
