Vehicle removed from Cary Lake in Branch Co. following deadly crash on Monday
BRANCH COUNTY, Mich. — Deputies in Branch County are working to determine what led up to the death of a Bronson man who was found dead in a submerged vehicle Monday morning.
Undersheriff Keith Eichler tells FOX17 a man first made contact with authorities just before 9:00 a.m., informing them of a crash at Cary Lake.
Responding officers would later find a Chrysler convertible submerged, with a 41-year-old Bronson man in the driver’s seat. The man has been identified as Jonathan McGuire.
“Actually the guy that reported it came right to our station this morning and reported it,” said Undersheriff Eichler.
“So we spoke briefly about what happened. He said I just need to report an accident that happened, okay, one of the deputies came in and took care of it. Further information from him and come to find out that this is where it happened and this is what happened with the car going off the end of the drive and into the lake.”
Investigators later determined the crash happened several hours before it was first reported, also telling FOX17 the man who reported the crash was, at one point, a passenger in the same vehicle.
“Just the way it was reported,” said Undersheriff Eichler. “It was just ‘I need to report an accident’, so it didn’t seem like it was a stressful thing to him.”
Divers and marine patrol officers found the convertible vehicle upside down in the water, working carefully to remove the vehicle Monday afternoon and evening without damaging any potential evidence.
The Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the circumstances leading up to the crash.
