Officers found dead in submerged car

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (UPI) Authorities say two California Highway Patrol officers have been found dead inside a patrol car that fell into a raging California river when a 300-foot section of the rain-damaged highway washed away.

Divers found the bodies of Officers Rick Stovall and Britt Irvine in the car, which was found buried in mud about 1/4 mile downstream from Highway 166 near Santa Maria, about 170 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

CHP spokeswoman Margaret Magner says the officers were responding to a call of a sinkhole when the road gave way. Additional officers were sent to the scene to look for the missing officers and investigate reports that there were vehicles floating in the Cuyama (``koo-YAW'-muh'') River.

At least three vehicles besides the patrol car were swept away. Two people were rescued, and searchers are continuing to look for more possible victims.

The highway was washed away in the most powerful El Nino-related storm of the year, which has triggered flooding, mudslides and evacuations along California's coastline.

At least three other people have been confirmed dead in the most recent storm.

A man was found dead in the rubble of a mudslide that destroyed three homes in Laguna Beach. Eight other people were injured, including a 9-month-old baby who was pulled from the water flowing at the bottom of a hill.

Two other people were killed in the Claremont area, when a eucalyptus tree broke free of its roots and crashed into a sport-utility vehicle.

The newest El Nino storm dropped as much as 9 inches of rain in the mountains of the California's central coast and broke precipitation records elsewhere in the state before moving out of the area early today. Forecasters are calling for several days of dry weather with the end of that storm.

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