ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Police have identified a body found in the Tomoka River as that of a missing woman who they said crashed her car near Tomoka State Park.
Carly Bowie’s mother said her daughter had been out celebrating her 21st first birthday. She said Bowie called her to tell her she was on her way home.
Her mother said that was the last time she heard from Bowie.
“It’s an unfortunate incident,” said Keith Walker of the Ormond Beach Police Department.
Bowie’s car was found underwater by dive teams later Tuesday.
Ormond Beach police said someone reported hearing a loud bang from a crash and called 911 at about 5:30 a.m.
Investigators said the car hit the guardrail several times before going off the bridge and into the water.
“There were several areas on the guardrail that were damaged,” said Walker. “So it hit the guardrail a couple of times and then went over.”
Police said divers found the car with its windows rolled down. No one was inside the car, but police said they recovered some of Bowie's belongings.
Investigators said conditions on the road could have made driving at that hour difficult.
“Visibility was real bad, and with the darkness and the fog up on North Beach Street with the way it's set up, with the trees on both sides of the roadway, up by the park, you know visibility is a difficult,” said Walker.
The crash remains under investigation and police hope autopsy results will help them figure out why her car went over the rail.