UPDATE: At 7:30 p.m Southampton Police confirmed that the driver of the car, Simon R. Flaherty, 80, of Hampton Bays died as a result of the accident. For the latest information, .
UPDATE: At 4:15 p.m. divers began to remove the car from the water.
UPDATE: At 3:15 p.m. The driver was recovered from the vehicle and is being transported to the hospital. CPR is in progress, according to chatter on the police radio. Rescue divers, who are braving 27 degree air temperatures, are also being rehabbed as they exit the water.
PREVIOUSLY: A car landed in the Shinnecock canal in Hampton Bays near of Canal Road and Old North Highway on Tuesday afternoon just before 3 p.m., according to chatter on the police scanner.
Southampton Town police have confirmed the incident, but could not provide details.
The Hampton Bays and Southampton Police Department's dive teams have been called to the scene and mutual aid has been requested of the Bridgehampton Fire Department. A police helicopter was also called to the area.
It is unclear if the driver of the car was in the water, but there are divers in diving gear and firefighters wearing life vests and according to police chatter, a car was found in the water at 3:15 p.m.
A Suffolk County helicopter has been spotted in the area. Also responding is New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, Suffolk County Park Police, Southampton Town Bay Constable, Southampton Town Police, Hampton Bays Ambulance, the United States Coast Guard, the Eastport Fire Department, a boat from the Mattituck Fire Department and the North Sea Fire Police.
Check back as this story develops.
Reporting by Taylor Vecsey and Brendan O'Reilly.
