South Whitley Man Dies When Car Goes In River FORT WAYNE – A South Whitley man died early Sunday after his car crashed into the St. Marys River in Fort Wayne.
The Allen County coroner identified the man as Brian Coburn, 36.
Police and other emergency responders were called to the area near Rudisill and Broadway streets shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday following a report that a vehicle had gone into the river.
The car was equipped with OnStar, according to WANE 15. An OnStar operator who made contact with authorities initially indicated that the car was either in the river or beside it. A little later, the operator reported the car was in the river.
The submerged car was found and the Fort Wayne Fire Department deployed rafts and divers into the river.
Divers found Coburn inside the vehicle, and the car was pulled from the river, according to The Journal Gazette.
Coburn was pronounced dead at the scene and his death was ruled an accidental drowning by the coroner’s office.
No one else was found in the car.
The crash remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne police, coroner’s office and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, according to The Journal Gazette.
