Onlookers react to tragic crash

NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) -- The area inside the Newport Shipyard, where expensive yachts are docked and repaired, is private and off-limits to the public.

The location where a car drove off a dock Friday morning and ended up upside down in the water, killing three adult women , is drawing concerns and questions among locals.

• Photos: Car Found Submerged in Newport Harbor

Jack Brownell, of Newport, was fishing at the dock between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. the night before the tragedy. He says it was a clear night and the fog was not an issue at the time.

"I'm just curious why they ended up in the water," he said "It should've been blocked off."

Brownell says for a car to make a wrong turn, as police have said, is unusual since the area is closed off to the public.

"I was wondering why the guard over here didn't stop them and direct them, he added. "'Cause they always have a guard in that shack over there."

Fred Ramos drove down from Bristol and was upset to learn that no one survived, especially since the car landed in four feet of water.

"The pressure, they can't open the doors, and then they try to break the windows and they can't seem to break the windows," he said. "I hope I'm never in that circumstance."

We are still waiting to hear from police exactly how the accident happened, and why. They're not releasing the victims' identities until their next of kin is notified.