Sophomore Bayleigh Stovall, 15, died early Tuesday morning after authorities say her car hydroplaned off Main Street, and floodwaters swept it into the tunnel of a 6-foot deep culvert.
"You can't see down there," said Donna Frey, who lives in the neighborhood next to the culvert. "Even if I was in my backyard, I couldn't see down there."
Frey didn't hear Monday night's crash, but watched as rescue teams pulled Stovall's car from the tunnel hours later.
"You just wouldn't expect that to happen," she said.
Investigators say Stovall's 2000 Honda fit perfectly into the tunnel, pushed by flood waters after Monday night's storms. Frey says a little less than an inch of rain was recorded in her neighborhood.
"If it's not visible... it's like finding something in the dark," said KHP Trooper Gary Warner.
Emergency crews searched for 45 minutes before finding Stovall's car. In the moments after the crash, she was able to call a friend. That friend then called 911.
"We need to get officers on this as fast as possible," the friend says in the call to emergency dispatchers. "I don't want my friend drowning."
He told authorities the last thing he heard from Stovall was "gurgling."
Although Stovall said she was near the school, she was unable to give her friend specific directions on how to find her. Authorities say that crucial piece of information may have delayed her rescue.
Emergency responders also say if Stovall had called 911 directly from her cell phone, it's possible they could have traced the call and narrowed the search area.
Investigators finally found Stovall's car after noticing the faint glow of headlights deep within the tunnel.
Stovall was pulled from the culvert, and four feet of water, about 10:00 Monday night. She was rushed to Susan B. Allen Hospital in El Dorado, then transferred to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita where she later died. An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.
Stovall is remembered as a gifted honor student, talented actress, and volunteer for youth service organizations.
I miss her a lot ):
Rest in peace bay-bayyy(:
kinzibabayxo