Three generations of a family, including a two-year-old girl, have been killed during a driving lesson after their car plunged into a Rhode Island river.

Police received a report that a car had driven into the Seekonk River in Pawtucket on Sunday evening at the small boat-launching area, The Boston Globe reported.

After hours of searching for the submerged car, authorities pulled it out of the water Monday afternoon. The 45-year-old woman, a 22-year-old woman and the two-year-old girl inside the car were found dead.

Pawtucket resident Josue Gomez told The Globe it was his wife, Floridalma Arceno, their daughter, Linora Sucely Gomez, and their granddaughter, Ana Sofia Garcia Gomez, who were killed in the accident.

Gomez said Arceno was teaching their daughter how to drive with their granddaughter in the car when his wife called him in a panic and said, “‘It won’t brake, it won’t brake.’’

“It was the last thing she said to me,” he said.

Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that a “Good Samaritan riding a jet ski in the vicinity heard the car enter the water and attempted to help,” The Providence Journal reported.

“While this was occurring, another individual called 911, and first responders were on scene within 3 minutes,” Goncalves said.

Gomez said he hurried to the boat ramp Sunday evening, but the car was already submerged.

Police tried to find the car, but suspended the search around 1 a.m. Monday due to poor conditions, according to reports.

The search resumed Monday morning, and by around 2:30 p.m. ET, a tow truck pulled the car out of the water.

“They were good people,” Gomez told The Globe.

The Independent has reached out to the Pawtucket Police Department and the Rhode Island Office of the State Medical Examiners for comment.

Authorities called it a “tragic accident,” and said there were no indications of foul play, according to reports.

“Preliminary findings suggest the vehicle was in proper working order,” Pawtucket Detective Sergeant Paul Trout said in an email to The Globe.

Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien called the incident a “heartbreaking tragedy” in a statement shared with the media.

“Our community mourns alongside them, and we want them to know they are not alone during this unimaginable time,” Grebien said.

• A new poll shows Helena Foulkes leading Gov. Dan McKee by 20 points in the Democratic primary for governor.
• McKee has narrowed the gap from a 34-point deficit in April, following a series of TV attack ads.
• The poll indicates McKee remains unpopular among likely Democratic primary voters, with 56% holding an unfavorable opinion of him.
• In a hypothetical general election, Foulkes holds a significant lead, while a McKee nomination could result in a close three-way race.

PROVIDENCE – Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes still leads Gov. Dan McKee by double-digits in the Democratic primary race for governor, but her whopping 34-point lead of last April has shrunk to 20 points in the wake of McKee’s TV attack ads, according to a new University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll.

The survey sampled 337 likely 2026 Democratic state primary voters, 145 likely Republican state primary voters and 664 likely general election voters between June 18 and June 23.

Among the key findings of the survey:

If the Democratic primary had been held while the survey was underway, 42% of likely primary voters would have chosen Foulkes and 22% would have chosen McKee, with restaurant owner Gregory Stevens and Wil Gregersen each getting 1%, the poll said. Thirty-one percent of respondents were undecided.

“Pluralities of moderates (46%), liberals (46%), and progressives (46%) support Foulkes, while two-thirds of socialists (66%) are undecided. McKee does best among those aged 65 and older (31%) but still trailsFoulkes (46%) among this group,” according to this poll.

McKee has narrowed the gap somewhat since the last UNH poll in April, when 45% of likely primary voters chose Foulkes and only 11% McKee.

• Rhode Island athletes won 25 total medals at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis.
• Track athlete Thomas Poirier’s gold medal-winning 400-meter race gained viral attention on social media.
• The Rhode Island softball team won a gold medal after a comeback victory and a championship rematch.
• An injury to a teammate became a rallying cry for the softball team on their path to victory.

Rhode Island athletes took home five gold medals, nine silver medals and 11 bronze medals at 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which wrapped up on June 26.

The Rhode Island Special Olympians left for the games in private jets provided by Textron on June 15. A total of 50 members, including 24 athletes and their families, traveled to represent and cheer on Rhode Island.

“Once we went to the hangar on the way out to Minnesota, and there was a big rally, my husband Steve and I were looking at each other saying, ‘This is big. This is huge being invited to the USA games,’” Rena Megrdichian, mother of softball player Garen Megrdichian, said. “I guess we just didn’t realize what an honor this whole process was.”

After preliminary events on June 22 to group athletes accordingly, the medal rounds across multiple sports began the next day.

Rhode Island picked up three gold medals, three silver medals and four bronzes in bowling, swimming, powerlifting and track and field events on June 23. Despite the heavy medal count for the smallest state, one athlete’s finish went viral on social media.

Thomas Poirier, of North Providence, was placed in lane 5 of group 4 in the 400-meter after finishing fifth in his preliminary race with a time of 1:20.54. The race started, and Poirier hustled as hard as he could, but coming into the final 100 meters, he found himself in fourth place. Then, he kicked it into another gear. He passed the runner in third, then second and suddenly he was gaining on the leader he was about 25 meters behind just a few seconds prior. With 25 meters left to go, Poirier passed Noah Lamusga, of Minnesota, and took the lead and the gold medal.