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Driver’s Body Found in Kentucky River

December 27, 2010 - Irvine, KY - On Thursday, December 16, emergency crews recovered a woman's body from the Kentucky River, WTVQ.com has reported.

Kentucky State Police believe it's the body of 52-year-old Della Conrad, who had been driving a minivan. Authorities think she lost control of the vehicle on the evening of Wednesday, December 15, when she drove around a Doe Creek Road curve on Highway 851, near Irvine.

According to State Police, Conrad's body was located roughly 60 yards from the area where the minivan veered into the frigid river.

She was headed for home in Estill County from her job at Irvine Health and Rehabilitation Center at the time of the car accident. She had spent 22 years working at the center. Employees were planning to wear purple and black ribbons in Conrad's memory because purple was her favorite color.

A regional director for the center hailed Conrad as "exceptional."

Her minivan tumbled 70 feet and a hub cap and side mirror tore away from the vehicle before it hit the river. Investigators pulled the empty Dodge Caravan from the water on December 15, Courier-Journal.com reported.

The search for Conrad was stalled because of environmental factors.

Police don't think anyone else had been in the vehicle with Conrad. An autopsy was expected to be conducted on December 18.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2009 Kentucky Crash Statistics, there were 791 fatalities as a result of traffic accidents in Kentucky.

As a service to our readers, we will occasionally publish blogs about serious or fatal traffic accidents in our region. We do this to raise awareness of the types of conditions and factors that commonly lead to severe injuries or death as a result of Kentucky vehicle accidents.

If you or loved one was mentioned in this blog and you would like for it to be removed, please contact us and we will accommodate your request.

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