Elderly Couple Dies After Their Car Crashes Into Canal: ‘They’re in Heaven Together'

A canal.Photo:Getty

Getty

An elderly couple has died after their car plunged into a canal in Florida.

Howard Walter Cooper, 94, was approaching a cul-de-sac on Kismet Parkway West on Sunday when he went off the road rather than stopping or turning with the roadway,according to a news release from Cape Coral police.

The 2009 Silver Chevrolet Impala traveled across a grass yard before “striking a palm tree” and driving “off the seawall into the canal,” they added.

The car, which was also carrying Howard’s 88-year-old wife, Marilyn Palmer Cooper, became submerged in the water, and no one was observed exiting the vehicle.

Addison Bryant, the Coopers' great niece, said she did not see the couple when she got home from work that day but realized something was wrong when they didn’t turn up.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

While searching for her great aunt and uncle, Bryant said she spotted police going toward the area of Kismet Parkway West. She and her brother eventually arrived at the scene and learned that the car belonged to the Coopers.

The Coopers had just moved to Cape Coral from Kansas and were married for more than 50 years, Bryant said.

This is the 18th traffic fatality in Cape Coral this year, according to police. Speed was not a factor in the crash, nor were drugs and alcohol.

source: people.com