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Vehicle submersions claim the lives of nearly 400 people annually who could have survived if they had just known what to do and in what order to do it. Vehicle submersion fatalities and injuries occur in two ways - when a vehicle crashes into water or when flood waters sweep a vehicle away.
According to data documented by Kids and Car Safety, there have been at least the 5 child vehicle submersion fatalities in the U.S. this year and the 3rd since Saturday.
- 2/15/25 – A mother and her daughter died after their car was swept away by flash floodwaters during a storm in Bonnieville, Kentucky.
- 2/16/25 – A two-year-old boy and his legal guardians died, while two juveniles survived after high waters swept their truck into a river in Welch, West Virginia.
- 2/17/25 – A mother and her child were found dead after their car was discovered upside down in a creek in Cranberry, North Carolina.
Additionally, the organization has documented 47 fatal cases and 53 non-fatal cases involving adults.
The true magnitude of the issue can only be understood by looking at several data sources. An annual average of 384 traffic fatalities involved accidental drowning as one of the causes of death (FARS 2004-2007). Additionally, almost 2 out of 3 U.S. flash flood deaths occurred in vehicles from 1995 to 2010 according to Dr. Greg Forbes, former severe weather expert at The Weather Channel. It is important to note that these statistics do NOT include any nontraffic vehicle submersion fatalities (i.e. those occurring on private property).
People must understand that one minute is all the time you have to exit a sinking vehicle safely before the water pressure against the windows becomes too great to get out. Staying inside a vehicle in water can turn your vehicle into a coffin.
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