Marin Coroner IDs 2 Men Killed After Car Sped Into Canal

SAN RAFAEL, CA — Police in San Rafael have released the identities of two people who were killed Saturday morning when their car sped off a dead-end street and into the Canal waterway.

According to police, a witness estimated the vehicle they were in was traveling at 70 mph when it drove into the waterway at the end of Canal Street around 7 a.m. The witness saw the vehicle race down the street and then heard a splash.

Police said that when they arrived at the scene, they saw skid marks and a vehicle submerged in the water.

Two 21-year-old men from San Rafael, Jose Vasquez Gonzalez and Gaytan Hernandez, became trapped inside their vehicle.

Dive teams and other rescue personnel pulled the two men from the vehicle. At the time, both were unconscious and in cardiac arrest, police said. Medically personnel attempted life-saving measures, but one of the men was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man was taken to the hospital but died there.

A preliminary investigation, pending toxicology reports from the Marin County Coroner's Office, suggested that alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, police said.

"The Marin County Sheriff's Office and personnel of the Coroner Division offers our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Vasquez Gonzalez and Mr. Gaytan Hernandez," said the Sheriff's Office in a statement released Sunday.

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