The Monroe County coroner conducted autopsies Monday on a young child and two adults who died after their car went into Lake Monroe over the weekend.
The Indiana DNR is investigating to figure out exactly what happened at the Paynetown Recreation Area Saturday.
Debbie Grounds, Vine Grove, Kentucky, was camping with her family when she saw a torrent of police lights and emergency vehicles racing toward the boat ramp.
She could only snap a few grainy photos of the scene, but what she and others witnessed she clearly won't forget.
She says a fisherman was the first to first called 911.
"He said there was a car that just drove right into the water and I said 'oh my goodness that's awful'," Grounds said.
DNR investigators say around 10:30 Saturday night, a passenger car drove off the boat ramp and into Lake Monroe.
"Once the vehicle was in the water, the individuals in the car were yelling for help and the witnesses tried to rescue them but were unsuccessful due to vehicle was submerged in the water," explained DNR Officer Brent Bohbrink.
A man, woman and young boy were trapped in the car.
Witnesses told investigators that the driver's window was open, but water filled up the car fast.
"It drove off and floated a little bit out and then submerged to where they could not get to or swim to," Bohbrink said.
"The fisherman said it was submerged for about 15 minutes. I don't know how hard it is when you're underwater to try to get out, but it must be devastating," Grounds said.
The Bloomington dive team arrived quickly and eventually found and pulled the three victims out of the water. The man and woman died at the scene. The child died at IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
How or why the car drove in is still unclear. Investigators say it doesn't appear the driver tried to stop once they got near water.
There are "no parking" signs but just two lights in the area and no barriers to the water at night.
"It was 10:30 at night. It was dark out. We do have security lights around the ramps. I can't advise you if they had headlights on. It's unknown at this point," Bohbrink said. "We may never know exactly why that vehicle drove into the water."
"It was heartbreaking," Grounds said. "A fun event turned into a tragic event for another family and any type of tragedy like that is devastating and my heart just goes out to the family."
DNR officers say they can't remember any other accidents quite like this, where a car actually drove into the water at Paynetown.
The victims' were identified Monday evening as 67-year-old Estella Huerta, 31-year-old Alejandro Hernandez-Huerta and 4-year-old Alex Oliver Hernandez, all of Lawrence, IN.