FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida couple returning home after a Thanksgiving getaway died when their SUV plunged into a canal on a stretch of Interstate 75 known as Alligator Alley.
Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Mark Wysocky tells news outlets that 42-year-old Kevin Livingston and 35-year-old Michele Livingston died in the Sunday afternoon crash that backed up holiday traffic for hours.
Wysocky says the tread on the left rear tire separated, causing the driver to lose control. The SUV plunged into a canal that runs parallel to the highway. Good Samaritans tried to rescue the couple but the water is about 40 feet (12 meters) deep.
Divers pulled them from the vehicle.
News outlets report the Livingstons were returning to Tampa after spending the holiday in South Florida.