Search for missing girl, 8, continues following fatal Sherman crash

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - A one-vehicle crash off US-75 into a flooded Sherman drainage ditch Christmas Eve morning has claimed the life of one person while the search for a missing 8-year-old girl continues Wednesday.

News 12 cameras captured the rushing waters beneath the flipped SUV as first responders rushed to save the occupants of the vehicle Tuesday morning.

Crews then spent the day searching for two of the vehicle’s six occupants, who went missing following the crash.

The body of one of the two was recovered just before 5 p.m. Tuesday.

A City of Sherman spokesperson said Wednesday that crews including Texas Task Force 2 searched Post Oak Creek throughout most of the night to try and locate the missing 8 year old girl, to no avail.

“The search was resumed before sunrise this morning, with members expanding the search area outside of Sherman and into the lower branches of Post Oak and Choctaw creeks,” the spokesperson said.

Sherman police cannot confirm the identity or age of the victim recovered at this time, but said the family of the victims have been notified.

Around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sherman Fire and Police responded after they received a 911 call. Lieutenant Samuel Boyle says the dangers escalated as rain poured down.

“A vehicle had left the roadway and got caught in the drainage ditch around US-75 and Taylor Street,” said Boyle.

A white Chevrolet Traverse was carried by strong waters southbound, alongside the US-75 service road and stopped just before Houston Street, where six people were trapped inside.

The four rescued from the SUV were taken to Sherman Medical Center and all are expected to survive.

Authorities spent the day searching for the other missing two. One body was recovered just before 5 p.m., the other remains missing. No names or ages have been released.

First responders rushed to locate unaccounted for passengers Tuesday morning. Searching anywhere the rising water current flowed, breaking off into neighboring creeks.

Boyle says the search area is far and wide.

“It goes all the way down to the area where everybody likes to hunt for shark teeth,” said Boyle. “It kind of widens out there a little bit so the water slows down some.”

Boyle says the efforts of Sherman Fire and Police, the Texas Game Warden, and Texas DPS troopers are focused on finding everyone involved.

“We’ll keep going as far south as we need to until we can locate the two missing people,” said Boyle.

This is not the first fatality crash off U.S.-75 in Sherman during a flash flood. An Anna woman died in 2020 and a newlywed Arkansas couple were killed in 2021.

Boyle says the drainage ditch is operated by the Texas Department of Transportation and could use an extra safety measure such as a guardrail to prevent hydroplaning from ending in tragedy.

The cause of Tuesday’s crash remains under investigation.

“It likely had to do with a large accumulation of water and maybe some hydroplaning, which is a very dangerous situation,” said Boyle. “Once they’re in that drainage ditch, they’re really at the mercy of the water flow and the speed at which that’s going down. it’s a tragedy, it really is.”

As the search continues, Boyle’s message to all drivers in wet or flooding conditions is to drive safe and not take the risk.

“Please drive very carefully,” said Boyle. “Even if you think your vehicle can make it through some large standing water, please consider going around and taking another route because once you hit that standing water, you’ve really lost control of your vehicle.”

This is a developing story. Stay with News 12 for updates.

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