Car crashes into Cedar River; passengers face alcohol charge

No one was injured when a car slid into the Cedar River early Thursday morning, but the women who were inside are facing charges.

Linn County Sheriff's deputies responded around 1 a.m. to a report of a car in the river in the 3500 block of Ellis Road. They found the 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix in the river, but no one around it.

Authorities idenitified the registered owner of the vehicle as Brandy R. Cason, 23, of Cincinnati, Ohio. She and Kelli A. Butler, 23, of Marion, were in the car when it veered onto the north shoulder, rolled onto its top and slid down a steep embankment into the river, authorities said.

When Cason and Butler were located, they were intoxicated in public. Deputies were unable to determine who was driving the vehicle when it crashed.

Cason and Bulter were taken to the Linn County Jail for public intoxication, authorities said.