Man Dies After Truck Plunges Into Lake Austin

NORTH AUSTIN, TEXAS — A man was killed after the truck he was in plunged into Lake Austin at the Penny Backer Bridge over the Colorado River, officials said early Wednesday.

Emergency crews responded to an area near the bridge at around 11 p.m. Tuesday night where they found a truck submerged in water inside Lake Austin, a reservoir of the Colorado River. The empty truck prompted a frantic and robust search — by land, water and air — for the missing person who had been in the vehicle before it fell into the water.

But after a good while of searching, fire officials suggested the person was likely dead. By 2:36, Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed that worst possible outcome: "Austin police dive team has made a recovery," medics wrote in a tweet early Wednesday, adding that a man in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

As the evening on Tuesday progressed into morning the next day, officials said attempts at a rescue had transformed into a recovery mission — emergency workers' parlance suggesting the victim's possible death. The grim realization of not finding the victim alive came after a thorough search that included the expertise of a police rescue swimmer and helicopter-aided searches from the air, officials said.

"Rescue window has closed with the reported occupant not found," fire officials said in a grim update early Wednesday morning before medics confirmed the death. "Transitioning to recovery mode and handing scene over to APD," fire officials added, referencing the Austin Police Department. Fire officials noted the truck was submerged in about 12 feet of water with a mere six inches of the vehicle visible.

It's unclear what may have caused the vehicle to plunge into the lake.

No further details are known. Patch will update as more information is known.

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