Crime & Safety

Woman who said family was in submerged car could face misdemeanor

Claim prompted search and rescue response from Peninsula fire departments.

 A woman who told emergency officials that her husband and child were trapped in a car submerged in a San Mateo lagoon on Saturday might only face a single misdemeanor charge, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Tuesday.

The woman, whose identity has not been released, made the claim at about 2:50 a.m., shortly after she drove her vehicle into the water about 70 feet from the shore near E. Hillsdale Boulevard and South Norfolk Street, San Mateo police Lt. Ted Gonzales said.

The woman initially said she was the only person in the car but then changed her story and said that her husband and child were still in the vehicle.

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The claim prompted an immediate search and rescue response involving dive teams and rescue boats from the San Mateo, Foster City and Redwood City fire departments, Cal Fire and the San Mateo Harbor Patrol, Gonzales said.

Officers interviewing the woman made contact with her family and confirmed that she was lying, Gonzales said.

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The potentially dangerous search effort in dark, 53-degree waters was halted and the car was towed from the water, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

The woman, who was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, might only face a single misdemeanor count of making a false report of an emergency, Wagstaffe said.

The district attorney's office is continuing to review the case.

-Bay City News


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