By Nathan Duke
The patrol's report, released Jan. 31, said natural barriers in the swamp prevented Wayne Guay, 57, and his wife Dianne Guay, 55, from opening the doors of their white 2003 Mazda after it sank into a swamp off Interstate 95 in Rocky Mount, N.C. on Dec. 7.In December, daughter Jessica Guay and her husband, Danny Rodriguez, undertook a frantic search for the missing couple from their Ridgewood home, while her sister, Megan Guay of Whitestone, joined their brother Thomas in South Carolina to search for their parents.The Guays could not be reached for comment about the highway patrol's recent report, but the family had been critical of the Horry County Police Department, which led the investigation into the Guay's disappearance in mid-December. Family members criticized the department because it waited several days before conducting an aerial search for the Guay's vehicle.A person near the site of the crash had called 911 to report an accident, but responders could not locate a car.The vehicle was eventually located by a contract worker near the scene Dec. 11, four days later, after he noticed a piece of luggage floating in the water adjacent to I-95, according to the highway patrol's report.Wayne Guay was driving at approximately 65 miles per hour when he steered his car to the right, causing the vehicle to lose traction, the report said. The Guays' car continued to turn right off the highway, traveled down a 10-foot embankment and struck a tree on the driver's side door, during which a branch punctured a hole in the door, the report said. The Guay's car sank under 12 feet of water and was completely submerged within 90 seconds, causing the couple to die from drowning, the report said.Wayne and Dianne Guay, who formerly lived in Ridgewood but moved to Myrtle Beach several years ago, were traveling to visit their daughters in Queens for the Christmas holiday at the time of the accident.Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
