Thottapilly Car Pulled Up to Roadside
The rest of the day, crews worked to pull the vehicle out of the water while being careful not to lose its contents. The bodies of Sandeep and Saachi Thottapilly were recovered.
Crews worked in the pouring rain and dark until 10:30 p.m. before stopping for the night as it was just too dangerous to continue.Today, because the car was filled with silt and it was incredibly heavy, workers using one of the large tow trucks shown at the top, pulled the vehicle up to the roadside. The process took hours.
There, the battered vehicle was loaded onto a flatbed and towed away.UPDATE: Thottapilly Family Together: 12-Year-Old Siddhant’s Body Found Today, All Accounted For Now
Earlier Chapters in the Thottapilly accident:
- Vehicle Upside Down in Water by Confusion Hill on 101
- Rescuers Unable to Recover Occupant(s) or Vehicle After It Plunged Into Eel River
- CHP Searched Sunday for Vehicle and Occupant(s) That Disappeared Into the Eel on Friday
- River Still Hasn’t Dropped Enough to Locate Vehicle That Was Swallowed Last Friday
- Dive Teams Sought for Missing People in the Hart Accident off Hwy 1 and the Missing Vehicle That Was Swallowed by the Eel River on Friday
- Multiple Agencies Searching for Vehicle Swallowed by Eel River
- Witness Tells of Vehicle Tipping Onto Two Wheels and Tumbling Over the Bank Into the Eel River Near Confusion Hill North of Leggett; Searchers Scour the River Tuesday
- Motorized Boat and Helicopter Join the Search for Vehicle Submerged in the Eel River
- Relatives of Missing Thottapilly Family Identify Items Found at Eel River Crash Site
- Searchers Believe They Have Found Body of One of the Missing Thottapilly Family
- Searchers Believe They Have Located Thottapilly Vehicle; Recovery Efforts Underway
- Bodies of Father and Daughter Recovered With Thottapilly Vehicle
- Searchers on the Thottapilly Crash Scene in Major Injury Accident
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This is a very sad and tragic event. By all appearances a very nice, loving and normal family.
Yes, I’m very happy they were ‘normal’ too. That’s very important isn’t it. Your comments always have a certain amount of stink, no matter how nice you are trying to be.
If anyone doubts me just read the comments this guy usually posts.
I’m glad this tragedy is wrapping up. It’s been a long couple weeks for emergency personnel and searchers.
“Normal” family? WTH?
Really!
Stalker.
Really? Do you have it in you to imagine this happened to some of your family or even yourself? Then to have someone nitpicking grammar. Sometimes I am so utterly disappointed in human behavior, as I am now. Your lack of compassion is appalling.
I read your comment word for word and I couldn’t spot a single grammar mistake. Good job.
What in heaven`s name did I write that was so bad. I stated that this is a sad and tragic event. I stand by my statement. I have lost friends to accidents, including car wrecks. Please enlighten me about how my statement demonstrates lack of compassion.
“Normal” family? WTH?
The comment I was referring to has been removed so my comment now has no context. Someone who used the name “Guest” pointed out a wording error in a very unkind way. The wording in the report has also been changed. Makes me wish my comment had been removed as well.
Oh, OK. Thank you for clarifying.
I didn’t see the grammar comment but I saw yours and suspected someone had removed their comment. I went and found the wording they didn’t like and changed it a bit.
Can i have your email ID as i wanted few details which i cant ask here kym.
Regards,
[email protected]
Absolutely horrible, devastating to the community, it is just unimaginable what it must be to friends and family. Peace to all.
Very sad.
Thank you to all who worked so hard to recover this family and their car. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to do this kind of work. You are greatly appreciated for your fortitude in such tragic circumstances.
Thank you everyone who worked relentlessly to recover the bodies. Decreased family head was my friend and colleague. Very sad and heart breaking. A happy family taken away so early from the earth, RIP
So sorry to the family 😢
Yes so sorry for this poor family’s tragedy could you imagine losing four family members all at once in an accident that would be horrible. I think having good tires is really important for driving in all types of weather especially in a unexpected down pour of heavy rain.
Tires? I agree their tires look kind of bald? Hard to tell in the picture tho…
This is not a case if vehicle or driver fault. They pulled over in a turnout and the road gave way. I’m guessing Caltrans is at fault and possible liable.
There are many Caltrans employees that take these accidents personally. Most who work for Caltrans are community members with many loved ones who drive and unfortunately wreck on these roads. The article says the roadway gave way, which happens in this country when we have lots of rain. Swollen rivers eat at the hillsides and cause erosion. I have been told to never pull over unless it is a paved turnout because the grass can be slick, as well as mud can cause your vehicle to slide.
This is a terrible, unfortunate ACCIDENT my heart goes out to the family.
I’m always grateful for those who take care of the roads. Especially when the rest of us are riding out the storms at home.
Your tires have no impact on the highway’s edge crumbling out from underneath your car! Either follow the story or stay out of the comments. Go back and read the section about the people who saw it happen. Geeze!
the witness directly behind said he never saw break lights and the vehicle headed off the road and started rolling right into the river. by the time he could safely pull over and go back the car was completely gone. does any one know if he was telling the truth???
He knows. If anyone else knows, then we will know when they say so.
This kind of innuendo will create even more chill in bystanders wanting to get involved. And that is something no one should want.
If it had not been for this witness, we would not now know what happened. The family would have simply disappeared somewhere between Oregon and SoCal. How crummy that your primary thought is that he is suspect! Have you no imagination for the other myriad, nearly infinite, possibilities that might have caused this accident?
Why don’t you wonder if the driver fell asleep?
If the witness hadn’t reported, this would have become a missing person case, and SAR teams would be searching Klamath forests for months on end, only to give up a couple of months later. A small plane went missing in the bay area in 1963, but was found in 1991, when Calaveras reservoir in the bay area almost went dry. Is that what you want to happen?
Even in the worst case, someone is tailgating you, so what? It is raining, and let the car behind you tail gate you.
Very very sad