CHIPLEY — Residents are mourning a former Chipley High School student after dive teams found the 20-year-old drowned in a submerged vehicle early Sunday morning, authorities reported.
Leon County Sheriff’s Office divers found a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo submerged in the Ochlockonee River near Tallahassee Sunday morning with the body of 20-year-old Jordan Rae Nedeau inside. Authorities were allegedly later told one of Nedeau’s Tallahassee Community College classmates was intoxicated when he drove the SUV into the river with Nedeau inside, according to LCSO.
Jeffrey Rushing, 20, was arrested in connection to the Nedeau’s death.
Rushing was found passed out near a business Saturday at about 9 a.m. The deputy, unaware of the events of the previous night, made contact with Rushing and drove him to 2513 Golden Park Lane where he and Nedeau had been the night before, LCSO reported.
At 4:40 p.m. that day, Rushing appeared at LCSO with his mother and told deputies that he needed to provide them with additional information. Deputies then learned that Rushing and Nedeau had been with friends the previous evening at a local night club and then later at the Golden Park Lane residence. Rushing told deputies he became intoxicated at the Golden Park Lane residence and left driving his Isuzu Rodeo with Nedeau as a passenger, LCSO said.
Detectives determined that Rushing was driving in the area of Tower Road, where LCSO’s Tactical Dive Team began their search. At 1:20 a.m. Sunday, they found the SUV with Nedaeu inside. Rushing was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide and taken to the Leon County Jail, according to LCSO reports.
Nedeau’s initial autopsy indicated she died from drowning.
In an interview with local Tallahassee media outlets, Nedeau’s father said she graduated from Chipley High School with honors. Residents from the area reached out via social media Sunday and Monday to offer words of condolence.
Rushing was released on bond Monday. The investigation in ongoing.