Search crews say they have located a car on the bottom of the Industrial Canal. Officials say there is a body inside the vehicle. The driver apparently ran off the Claiborne Avenue Bridge early this morning.

The bridge operator reported seeing the car plummet to water below while the bridge was in the up position.

Officials says they are investigating to determine how it happened. "I've heard a bunch of reports, and at this point I would not like to speculate," said DOTD Secretary Bill Ankner.

Ankner says he wants to know if the warning gates worked properly and if the operator followed procedure.

Authorities had to call in a crane to pull the car out of water after locating the vehicle with sonar.