Autopsy Confirms Three Died by Drowning in Novi Sad Canal
An autopsy has established that the three young people who died near Novi Sad drowned after their car overturned in a canal. Excessive speed is suspected as the cause.
- An autopsy established that all 3 young people died by drowning.
- The bodies were found on July 22 around 9:15 a.m., roughly three hours after the crash.
- The car left the road on a sharp bend and overturned into a canal about 1.5 meters deep.
- Excessive speed is suspected as the reason the driver lost control.
The autopsy results confirmed the grimmest assumption. The three young people who died in a canal near Novi Sad drowned. The forensic examination showed that none of them succumbed to injuries sustained when the vehicle overturned. Instead, the cause of death followed once the car remained submerged in the water.
The victims were R.F. (32) from Novi Becej, K.M. (34) from Belgrade, and N.P. (27) from Novi Sad. According to the circumstances established so far, the three were traveling in a grey car when the vehicle lost control on a road in the Veliki Rit area.
The crash happened on Wednesday morning, around 6:30 a.m. On a sharp bend, the car left the roadway and overturned into a canal about a meter and a half deep. The canal was filled with mud and water, and the vehicle came to rest on its roof, fully submerged.
How did the tragedy unfold?
According to unofficial information, the passengers remained trapped inside the vehicle after it overturned. Water quickly flooded the interior, and they were unable to open the doors and get out. It was that circumstance, rather than the impact itself, that decided the outcome. The autopsy findings support that reconstruction.
The bodies were found only around 9:15 a.m., nearly three hours after the crash. The vehicle was hidden in the canal, out of sight from the road, so in the first hours no one noticed that a car carrying three people lay beneath the surface. When crews reached the scene, they began pulling the overturned vehicle from the murky water.
It is now up to the traffic police to determine precisely why the driver lost control. For now, the most likely cause is cited as excessive speed, unsuited to conditions on that stretch of road. Fault, if any, will be the subject of an official examination and possible proceedings, and the final report has not yet been released.
What is known about the circumstances?
The section where it all happened is known as a narrow road, with sharp bends and canals running along both sides. Such canals, used for drainage, are often deep and full of water, and without a guardrail they pose a serious danger at any real speed.
In this case several factors came together. The early morning hour, poor visibility on the bend and, by early estimates, a speed that was not suited to the road. When a vehicle slides into a canal and overturns under such conditions, escaping the submerged cabin becomes almost impossible.
The authorities will continue gathering data on the technical condition of the vehicle and on its movement in the moments before the crash. Until those checks are completed, no official conclusion on responsibility will be reached.
One question always returns after events like this. How many of these tragedies would guardrails along the canals of local roads prevent?
