REND LAKE — A woman has died after her car was found submerged at the Cottonwood Access Area on Rend Lake just west of Bonnie Thursday.

Jefferson Fire Protection District Chief Robert Beal says duck hunters initially heard the crash and called 9-1-1 just after 9:30 Thursday morning. It was not known if someone was in the vehicle initially, but once on scene, they found a woman in the vehicle, which was overturned and the top submerged in the lake.

First responders pulled the car out using a rescue squad and broke the glass of the vehicle to free the woman. Beal says the woman was resuscitated and initially taken to Good Samaritan Hospital before being transported to a St. Louis area hospital for her injuries. Beal says the woman died of her injuries later in the day Thursday.

The identity of the victim has not yet been released.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies and Ina Police assisted JFPD at the scene.