SAN ANTONIO-- San Antonio firefighters have removed a vehicle containing the body of a Bexar County Sheriff's deputy after it was swallowed by a sudden sinkhole in a southwest-side road.
BCSO said in a tweet Monday that the deputy killed in the tragic sinkhole incident was Deputy Dora Linda (Solis) Nishihara, who had been with the agency for seven years.
SAFD confirmed Monday that two cars were swallowed by the sinkhole and at least one person was unaccounted for after entering the in the 8400 block of Qunitana Road.
Firefighters began to remove the two vehicles shortly after 10 a.m. Monday. Chief Hood confirmed in a press conference ahead of time that they were seeking to recover a body from one of the cars. "We know for sure that there is a body in one of those vehicles," said Chief Hood.
The sinkhole was first reported around 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the 8400 block of Quintana. Firefighters said a man in his 60s was driving through standing water when his vehicle entered the sinkhole.
Occupants of a car passing by saw the man stranded and stopped to help him. Firefighters said in the process of helping him, a woman was injured.
The man who entered the sinkhole and the woman who stopped to help him were both transported to Southwest General to be treated for minor injuries.
By the time first responders were able to make it to the scene, they realized that Nishihara's vehicle was already 90 percent submerged in the waters, and it was not likely that she would have survived.
A 100-ton crane was taken to the scene to remove both vehicles from the sinkhole Monday afternoon. The car containing the Nishihara's body was removed around 1 p.m.
Chief Hood said in a press conference immediately following that there was not much first responders could've done to save Nishihara.
Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau issued the following statement after learning about the death of a BCSO Deputy:
“We are heartbroken to confirm Deputy Dora Linda (Solis) Nishihara passed away after her car fell into a sinkhole Sunday. Our thoughts and prayers are with her friends and family. Deputy Nishihara worked as a Reserve Deputy from August 2009 to October 2016 before transitioning to a part-time Deputy at the Bexar County Courthouse in October of this year. We are assisting her family as they deal with this tragedy.”