Three Bodies Pulled From Submerged Car in New Orleans Canal Over the Weekend

The remains of a man, a woman and a child were found in a car submerged in a New Orleans East canal on Saturday evening, according to a spokesperson with the New Orleans Police Department.

A passerby noticed a four-door car in a canal near Gannon and Morrison roads and alerted police around 6:00 pm on Saturday.

When police officers and New Orleans Emergency Medical Services paramedics arrived on the scene, they saw the vehicle in the canal and the remains of two adults inside. After removing the car from the water, the remains of a girl were also found in the car.

Police reported their discovery around 7:45 pm. It's still unclear as to when the car went into the canal or how the three people died.

The investigation is ongoing. Blood and alcohol tests have been ordered and the coroner is conducting autopsies to determine the exact cause of death.

Several neighbors in the area have expressed concern that the area is not well lit and needs to be cleaned up. They also have called it a "dump site" where people dump trash and other things they don't want.

"Extremely dark at night," nearby resident Eric Vaughn told WWL-TV. "You got an area where the state or city is not concerned about police presence so you're not concerned about road infrastructure, you’re not concerned about proper lighting, you’re not concerned about proper signage."

"It's concerning that two people and a kid would end up there in a canal but it’s a dark area, it's a dumping area, it is an area we have a lot of foot traffic with people walking in and out and I don’t think they live in the neighborhood," Jemison said. "I think we need more lights, we need more control, we need some physical barriers and this thing needs to be cut and maintained."