First picture of married couple who died after driving car into flooded road
A married couple who were killed after their car ended up on a flooded road have been pictured for the first time.
They were inside a black Mercedes Class 180 when it entered the water on Queens Drive between North Mossley Hill Road and Dovedale Road, in Liverpool, at around 9.20pm on Saturday.
Firefighters and police managed to free the pair from the terrifying ordeal but they were pronounced dead after they arrived at hospital.
Now, they have been named formally as Philip and Elaine Marco – aged 77 and 75.
A photo shows the elderly couple sitting at a table with Philip resting his arms around Elaine.
Their family said in a statement: ‘We are devastated and heartbroken by the sudden loss of Elaine and Philip Marco.
‘They were much loved parents to four children and 10 grandchildren. The family are arriving overseas from America and Australia to mourn their loss.
‘They were due to celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary next week and our only comfort is knowing that they were together to the very end.’
It seems the couple had connections to the Jewish community as several of their loved ones’ tributes included Hebrew or Yiddish religious phrases.
Local Jewish organisation Lubavitch Liverpool wrote on its Facebook page: ‘Terrible tragedy with the passing of our dear friends, Philip & Elaine Marco.
‘May Hashem (used to refer to God) heal the torn hearts of their children and grandchildren. A huge loss to our community.’
Another said: ‘Baruch Dayan HaEmet. My thoughts and prayers are with their family and the whole community.’
‘Baruch Dayan HaEmet’, meaning ‘blessed is the true judge’, is a traditional Jewish response to death.
The road they died on is believed to have flooded after extremely heavy rain hit the area, with Met Office data showing more than 32mm of rainfall an hour in the local area on Saturday.
Locals who live in the area told the Liverpool Echo that Queens Drive, which dips as it goes beneath a bridge, has long been an issue.
They said several cars had become stuck in deep water in the last few months, but one man said he had ‘never seen it as bad’ as it was on Saturday night.
He went on: ‘That’s the deepest I’ve ever seen it. It was absolutely lashing it down. Rarely have I seen it rain that bad. But nearly every time it rains they seem to have to close the road.’
Police said they would be investigating the incident further at the coroner’s request.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Dalton said: ‘Our thoughts go out to the family of the man and woman who sadly lost their lives in this tragic incident, despite the best efforts of passing members of the public, our officers and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services at the scene.
‘We are at the early stages of an ongoing investigation on Queens Drive to establish the circumstances of this tragic incident. Road closures remain in the area as we continue with this investigation and motorists are advised to avoid the road.”
‘We are continuing to appeal to anyone who was on Queens Drive, between North Mossley Hill Road and Dovedale Road at around 9.20pm last night and saw the accident, or who stopped to try and help or anyone who had any dashcam footage from their car to come forward as soon as possible.
‘Similarly, if you live in the area and have any doorbell or CCTV footage from last night please share this with us. Thank you for your patience whilst we deal with this tragic incident.’
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