Man, 30, found dead after crashing car in Central Texas lake, police say

Cause of crash is unknown

A man was found dead in a Central Texas lake after he reportedly crashed his car into the water on Wednesday.

Temple police said the man, identified as 30-year-old Kristian Garcia Cruz, died in Belton Lake near Temple Lake Park, about 35 miles south of Waco.

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Witnesses told police that a Nissan Versa went through guard posts and then into the water just after 9 a.m., KCEN-TV reported.

When officers arrived, they found that the car was unoccupied and the driver wasn’t in the immediate area of the crash site, police said in a news release. The vehicle was recovered around 11:30 a.m.

The family of the driver later notified police that they hadn’t heard from him in several hours.

Temple Police and the Texas Parks and Wildlife used a sonar scanner to survey the lake and eventually found the driver underwater, authorities said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Temple Police Department at 254-298-5500 or the Bell County Crime Stoppers at 254-526-8477.

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About the Author:

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.