1 Dead, 3 Missing After Car Careens Into Delaware Canal

An 18-year-old driver is dead and three other young people remain missing after a car careened off a Delaware canal bank Sunday morning and crashed into the water below, Delaware officials said.

The accident happened around 9:41 a.m. in Middletown, about a mile from the Sen. William V. Roth Jr. Bridge, state police said. The car fell into the southern side of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, according to Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Michael Austin.

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A 16-year-old female passenger managed to escape the wreckage and swim to shore with the help of the 18-year-old driver, Austin said. Once she reached safety, the driver swam back to help the remaining three passengers. He did not survive, police said. 

"He was a hero," Austin said of the driver, who has not been identified. "He tried to do everything he could."

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A multiagency operation, including dive teams, located the submerged car around 3 p.m. Sunday. It was pulled out of the water several hours later, but no survivors have been located. An investigation continues, police said.

The driver and three missing passengers, all boys between the ages of 16 and 6, are related, according to police. The 16-year-old girl was described as a family friend.

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"Our hearts go out to the victims and their families," Austin said.

Photo Credit: NBC10

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