- April 24, 2024
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Lamar Montell Johnson, a 40-year-old Palm Coast resident, died March 18 after driving into a canal near the intersection of Club House Drive and Carol Court.
A 59-year-old resident of a nearby house told dispatchers that he went outside to smoke a cigar at about 11:20 p.m. and saw a car upside down in the canal behind his home, according to Flagler County dispatch notes.
The resident and his 32-year-old son jumped into the water and pulled Johnson out of the car while another relative spoke with county emergency dispatchers. Johnson was not conscious, and the men started CPR, but he did not respond.
A Fire Rescue crew arrived, and declared Johnson dead at 11:27 p.m.
It wasn't immediately clear if there might have been other people in the car, and the county placed its emergency helicopter on standby while the Flagler County Sheriff's Office's dive team checked for a second victim before determining that there had been no other people in the vehicle.
The Florida Highway Patrol investigated the crash, finding that Johnson had been driving west on Casper Drive approaching Club House Drive when he traveled into the grass embankment between Cardwell Court and Carol Court and into the canal. The FHP report does not list a cause for the crash.
FHP sent an on-call chaplain to Johnson's home to notify his family of his death, according to the dispatch notes.
Southbound Club House Drive was shut down for the investigation and reopened at 3:39 a.m.
