Rains drench East Coast; SC woman drowns in car

Associated Press

SPARTANBURG, S.C.

Drenching rains along an already-saturated East Coast caused major flooding Thursday, drowning a woman whose car quickly filled up with water and prompting flash-flood warnings from historic Charleston to Washington, D.C.

An early-morning downpour dumped 4 inches of rain on Spartanburg in a short time, causing floods that submerged several cars.

To the northeast, one person died and another was injured in a crash near Fayetteville, N.C., when a tree fell across an interstate and hit two cars.

Residents were bracing for several more days of rain and a possible strike by Hurricane Joaquin.

In South Carolina, 56-year-old Sylvia Arteaga was driving home after a night shift at Bridgewater Candle Co. on Thursday when authorities said the floodwaters trapped her underneath a railroad bridge at the edge of Spartanburg.

Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said Arteaga’s car flooded “to capacity” inside.