A rainstorm. A wrong turn. A language barrier.

That’s all it took to end the lives of Sook Yeon and Young Hwan Kim.

On June 4, the Garland, Texas couple, who immigrated to the States from Seoul with their three children 10 years ago, were on their way to a pizza restaurant in Dallas when they took a wrong turn onto a boat ramp. Driving straight into the Trinity River, their silver Hyundai Sonata quickly began sinking.

Young Hwan, 60, made a frantic call to 911.

“What language are you speaking?” asked the operator as the sound of rushing water and the cries of Sook Yeon, 57, could be heard in the background. “Are you speaking Chinese or something?”

According to the Dallas Morning News, although the operator continued to try to find out the Kims’ location, the call was cut off before she could obtain any information. When the operator called back, she received his voicemail.

Their car was not found until the following day.

 

-Nina Ahn