2 die after car goes into retention pond near Brownsburg warehouse

BROWNSBURG — Two people died after being pulled from pulled out of a car that went into a retention pond near a warehouse early Friday, an official said.

There were a total of four people in the car, all employees at Radial Corporation, 1111 E. 56th St. That is right next to the pond, officials said.

The driver and front-seat passenger, both females, got stuck when it went into the water. Two who were in the back, a male and a female, managed to escape, Brownsburg Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Pyatt-Barrett said.

Pyatt-Barrett said a language barrier initially made it unclear there were two people stuck in the front of the car.

Crews responded to the scene shortly after 6:07 a.m.

Officials were initially told the driver nearly hit a second car head-on, prompting them to make an evasive maneuver to avoid crashing, said Brownsburg Fire Territory Public Information Officer Danny Brock.

Pyatt-Barrett said video of the incident later found the two vehicles were following each other and one was going too fast, causing it to go into the water. She said there wasn't another car in front of them.

The male backseat passenger managed to escape and went into the building to get help. He was able to get help from another person, who managed to get the female backseat passenger out of the car. She was treated at the scene, Pyatt-Barrett said.

Meanwhile, it wasn't immediately clear that there were two others in the front of the car because of a "very intense language barrier," Pyatt-Barrett said.

She said officers went inside to the business and tried to find people to help translate, but dialect was an issue for them.

Brownsburg officers have a variety of options to help officers translate, including volunteers who are able to respond to the scene if needed or through the dispatch center, Pyatt-Barrett said. Sometimes, for things like scheduled interviews, arrangements can also be made through state and federal resources to have someone help translate.

By about 7:47 a.m., the driver and front passenger were pulled out of the vehicle.

Those persons' ages and identities were not immediately available.

Units from the Avon, Danville, Pittsboro and Plainfield fire departments were at the scene assisting.

WRTV Senior Digital Content Producer Andrew Smith contributed to this report.