Crime & Safety
Driver Killed After Plunge Into Canal Identified as Missing Pittsburg Man, 56
His family last heard from him Tuesday night when he called from BART station.
A man found dead inside a car submerged in the Contra Costa Canal in Pittsburg this morning was reported missing by family members Tuesday night, police said.
The man has been identified as 56-year-old Dennis Sandoval of Pittsburg, a Contra Costa County coroner's deputy said.
Emergency responders pulled Sandoval's body from a car found in the Contra Costa Canal near West Leland and Golf Club roads around 9 a.m., according to fire officials.
Rescuers worked to disentangle him from the submerged vehicle and attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Inspector Lisa Martinez said.
A sheriff's dive team searched the canal for other possible victims but confirmed there were none, Martinez said.
Raman said Sandoval called family members from the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station around 5 p.m. Tuesday saying he was on his way home.
When he still hadn't arrived home by 11 p.m., relatives called police to report him missing, the lieutenant said.
Police officers searched the BART station and surrounding areas on Tuesday night but were unable to find Sandoval or his vehicle.
Traffic investigators are investigating how Sandoval's car plunged into the canal.
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