Car with 5-year-old inside sinks in icy Utah river
2009-02-28

Category Auto Accident Nations U.S. City Salt Lake City States Utah Category Regions County Salt Lake County Metropolitan Salt Lake City Metro Category Colorado River Source (AP)

SALT LAKE CITY - Police in Utah say a car plunged 60 feet into a canyon and sank in the icy Colorado River with a 5-year-old girl trapped inside.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Darrel Mecham said the car driven by the girl's grandmother -- 60-year-old Evelyn M. Maestas -- went off the road Friday south of the city of Moab.

Maestas and her 11-year-old adopted daughter Tori were able to escape from the car through a broken window and get out of the river.

They told authorities they saw 5-year-old Danica still inside the car as it sank.

Search crews were not immediately able to find the car and the girl in the deep water.

Maestas and Tori were taken to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia. They are from Mancos, Colo.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com/