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• One dies, three hospitalized after car submerged in St. Croix River
• Transportation service adds New Richmond stops
• Stillwater Lift Bridge malfunction delays traffic
• UPDATED: Frantic calls come from vehicle as it sinks into St. Croix River
• Stillwater Lift Bridge reopens after traffic delays

By Mark Brouwer and Yvonne Klinnert, RiverTown Staff

STILLWATER, Minn. -- On Monday, authorities were slowly shedding light on events at Stillwater Marina Sunday night, where murky water swallowed four people and the sport-utility vehicle in which they were traveling.

Mohanraj Pothiraj, 28, of India, died early Monday, when for reasons that are as yet unclear the vehicle plunged into the river a few blocks north of Main Street, breaking through a thin layer of ice and traveling about 30 feet from shore.

Three women - Deepa Veluswamy, 25; Rohini Krishnamurthy, 27; and Kalai Selvi Vijaya Kumar, 25, all also of India - were rescued and remained hospitalized Monday afternoon, said authorities at press conference held at Stillwater City Hall.

Of the women, all of whom are being treated at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, one was described as being in critical condition. The others were said to be in serious condition.

Pothiraj and one of the women called 911 separately from mobile telephones as the vehicle was submerging, shortly after 10 p.m. A resident from an apartment nearby also reported the apparent accident and helped direct police and rescue workers to it.

Whether the vehicle had slid or drifted to its resting place, authorities said they didn't know. Rescuers found the vehicle submerged and facing shore, with its headlights aglow and its roof about a foot beneath a canopy of 40-degree water.

The victims' names, ages and other identifying information had been withheld until their families could be notified, said Stillwater Police Chief John Gannaway.

All four were said to be foreign nationals who had trouble communicating with rescue workers. Alcohol was not believed to have been a factor.

The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the incident.

NWT Express announced that they are now taking passengers from New Richmond to the Twin Cities.

They will operate daily in both directions. Reservations are required. Reservations can be made by calling toll free 877-698-3977 or visiting www.NWTEXPRESS.COM.

Passengers will depart and arrive at Ava's Restaurant at 850 North Knowles Ave. on the north side of New Richmond.

The primary destination will be the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport but custom drop off in the Twin Cities can be arranged if the schedule permits. Departures and return times vary with the days of the week to give travelers options for different flight times.

NWT Express has been in operation for more than 10 years serving northwestern Wisconsin. NWT Express carries full insurance and has authority to drop off and pick up passengers at the airport and will even do package delivery.

The Stillwater Historic Lift Bridge malfunctioned mid-morning on Tuesday.

The bridge, raised at the time of the malfunction, left drivers stuck in traffic for more than an hour on both sides of the St. Croix River.

The bridge was raised for an appointment to let barge traffic through, said Mary McFarland, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. MnDot electrical service workers are at the location trying to remedy the situation.

According to MnDot the lift bridge should re-open this afternoon.

"We're saying 3 p.m. to be conservative," McFarland said.

By Mark Brouwer and Yvonne Klinnert, RiverTown Staff

STILLWATER, Minn. -- Authorities are slowly shedding light on events at Stillwater Marina Sunday night, where murky water swallowed four people and the sport-utility vehicle in which they were traveling.

Mohanraj Pothiraj, 28, of India, died early Monday, when for reasons that are as yet unclear the vehicle plunged into the river a few blocks north of Main Street, breaking through a thin layer of ice and traveling more than 30 feet from shore.

Three women - Deepa Veluswamy, 25; Rohini Krishnamurthy, 27; and Kalai Selvi Vijaya Kumar, 25, all also of India - were rescued and remained hospitalized Monday afternoon, said authorities at press conference held at Stillwater City Hall.

On Tuesday, Veluswamy was being treated at Regions Hospital and was listed in serious condition. The others were said to be in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Pothiraj and one of the women called 911 separately from mobile telephones as the vehicle was submerging, shortly after 10 p.m., near the 500 block of Levee Road. A resident from a nearby condominium complex also reported the apparent accident and helped direct police and rescue workers to it.

"Hello we in the Stillwater, okay, and our car is sinking, now we in the water now. We are going to be submerged," Pothiraj said during a call he placed at 10:02 p.m., according to a transcript that authorities released Monday. He identified himself as being near the marina's boat-rental area, but offered few specifics.

The woman, who was not identified in the transcript, called police at 10:04 p.m. She corroborated their location as being near a boat rental area, but said they were a lake in Wisconsin.

As the water rose in the vehicle's cabin, police dispatchers instructed the occupants to try to break the windows and escape, however, they seemed unable to do so.

"The door is got stuck. The door is got stuck and we can't open, our fingers are frozen," the woman told police.

"We don't have swimming," Pothiraj said as seconds passed. " [We] are fully submerged and die now."

Sounds of frantic talking and pounding followed.

"We cannot open the window," Pothiraj said, offering his last words before the phone went dead.

Whether the vehicle slid or drifted to its resting place, authorities said they didn't know, and they did not speculate as to how or why the car ended up in the water.

Rescuers found the vehicle submerged and facing shore, with its headlights aglow and its roof about a foot beneath a canopy of 40-degree water. It rested near a ramp used at the marina to raise and lower large boats into the water.

By 10:05 p.m., the condo resident had called police and was guiding them to the submerged vehicle. In near darkness and with no obvious signs of the vehicle's path, it took a few moments for police to find it.

Within a few minutes, members of the Stillwater Fire Department Dive Team arrived to find the vehicle completely submerged.

"If no one had witnessed it, it would have taken at least another half an hour or so," said Capt. Chris Zeuli, one of three divers first on the scene. That the vehicle's lights remained on saved rescuers' time, he said further.

Like the occupants, the divers were unable to open the vehicle's doors, although whether this was due to water pressure or the doors being locked was not immediately known. No air bubbles were released when divers broke through a rear driver's side window. Even with bright lighting, divers could see only about a foot in the murky water.

Diver Jonas Werpy entered the window and pulled three occupants, all unconscious, from it before losing feeling in his fingers and turning the job over to firefighter Tim Bell.

Bell said he felt a fourth person inside the vehicle, and when he tried to pull her out by her ankle, she resisted. After a couple of tries, he managed to pull her free.

"I did a foot sweep, I felt her, I tried to grab the ankle, and she actually rolled over and pulled away from me," Bell said. "I told the guys in the boat that 'This one is still alive and that she's fighting with me.'"

Bell repositioned his body and tried again. After at first feeling resistance, perhaps a snag from a seatbelt, the reached in and pulled with both hands. This time, he pulled the woman easily through he window.

"As soon as we rolled her over in the boat, I could hear her gurgle and gasp," he said.

In the ambulance, the woman she verified to emergency personnel that she was one of four occupants in the vehicle.

Bell speculated that the woman resisted because she was breathing from an air pocket trapped at the vehicle's roof.

As the occupants were pulled from the vehicle, each was placed in an ambulance that left for the hospital. The last ambulance left the marina at 10:34 p.m.

Firefighters estimated the vehicle was underwater 10 minutes before the last victim was removed.

The Minnesota State Patrol and Washington County Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident. The patrol is conducting an accident reconstruction. Alcohol was not believed to have been a factor.

Stillwater Police Chief John Gannaway said he doesn't know exactly how or why the vehicle ended up in the river, but said there was no obvious access to the water. Likely, he said, it would likely have been driven from Levee Road, and down an embankment before it could reach the water.

The last time a motorist died in the St. Croix River at Stillwater was in September 2006, when a driver drove off the Stillwater Lift Bridge when its lift section was raised. The driver survived, but two female passengers died.

After getting stuck in the open position for nearly three hours today, the Stillwater Lift Bridge is again open for traffic.

At 10 a.m., the bridge's lift was raised for the first time this season when an "electrical malfunction" prevented it from being lowered again, Minnesota Department of Transportation officials said.

Motorists lined up on both sides of the St. Croix River, waiting in vain for the lift to drop. MnDOT electrical service workers restored service around 12:45 p.m.

The bridge was raised for an appointment to let barge traffic through, said Mary McFarland, a MnDOT spokeswoman.