A man who drove past warning signs was found dead early Tuesday in a car submerged in floodwaters near Seattle, officials said, in the first reported death following a week of heavy rain and flooding in the region.
Rescue swimmers found the driver and his vehicle in about 6 feet (1.8 meter) of water in a ditch in the Snohomish area northeast of Seattle, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The driver, believed to be a 33-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene after lifesaving measures failed, officials said. No one else was in the car and the death was under investigation.
During a briefing on flood damage from last week’s storm, Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Jamal Beckham said the majority of calls his crews responded to were from people who tried to drive through water or were stranded atop vehicles…