Missing Denton County brothers found dead in submerged car
DENTON, Texas - Two missing teenage brothers were found dead in a submerged car in Denton County Wednesday morning.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials said someone called 911 around 8 a.m. to report seeing a car in a creek near Hickory Creek Road and Country Club Road.
Investigators believe the white Volkswagen Gulf went off the road for some reason, went over an embankment and landed upside down in the creek.
Rescuers pulled the bodies of two young boys from the vehicle. A relative at the scene identified them as 17-year-old Diego Rivera and 14-year-old Daniel Rivera.
Diego attended Denton Guyer High School. Daniel attended nearby Calhoun Middle School. News of their deaths spread quickly through social media.
“He was definitely one everyone knew. Everyone knew who Diego was,” said Steven Rost, a Guyer High School senior. “He was the goalie for the soccer team. Everyone kind a knows who he is.”
According to a relative, Diego came home from soccer practice Tuesday afternoon when he realized he left his watch at the soccer field. Daniel offered to go with him to retrieve it. The two drove off. That’s the last time the brothers were seen alive.
Diego's coach, Cody Schroeder, says he's been fortunate to have Diego as a goalkeeper the past four years, calling him a good student, good brother and a good son.
"He was a great person. Did well in school. Was a great teammate. A great friend. Never heard him say anything bad about anybody and always had a smile on his face and gave great effort every day,” the coach said. “That's more than you can say about some people."
Diego was set to play in a tournament that starts Thursday at Denton Guyer. Instead, it's being renamed forever in his honor: The Diego Rivera Iron Bridge Classic.
The stretch of roadway where the car plunged into the creek does not have any lights or a guardrail. The drop off to the water is about 20 feet. Investigators with the Texas Highway Patrol are trying to figure out what happened before the crash.
“They are going to look at all of the vehicle evidence, the physical evidence, at the scene, the roadway, the surface, the condition of the driver — all of those things will come into play,” said DPS Spokesperson Lonny Haschel.
It will be up to the medical examiner to determine the causes of death.