VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — A 19-year-old was found dead Sunday after authorities located his vehicle overturned in a canal.
The City of Venice reports that at 6:52 a.m., Venice police and Venice Fire Rescue units responded to Ranch Road and Rustic Road after receiving reports of a vehicle submerged in the Cow Pen Slough Canal.
Credit: City of Venice Credit: City of Venice Credit: City of Venice Credit: City of Venice
Upon arrival, VFR rescue swimmers entered the water and located one individual inside the vehicle. However, due to environmental hazards such as fluids and alligators, the recovery efforts were paused, and a dive team was requested to assist.
The investigation indicated that the vehicle, a Ford Ranger, might have been heading west on Rustic Road at a high speed when it left the roadway and hit a utility pole, causing it to overturn into the canal.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials removed two large alligators from the area before Venice divers, along with Sarasota County Sheriff’s Special Ops, could assess the vehicle.
According to the City of Venice’s public information officer, both agencies confirmed the body of a man trapped inside the truck.
After the truck was removed from the canal, the Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Fredy Chavez Sanchez, 19.
