Body Found In Car Buried Under Feet Of Mud After Severe California Storm

Vehicles are trapped by a mudslide on Highway 58 in Mojave, California on October 16, 2015.

Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images

A body was found Tuesday inside a vehicle buried under several feet of mud in Palmdale, California, after a severe storm sparked flash flooding and debris flows, trapping hundreds of vehicles in the area.

Homicide detectives and coroner officials were called to a residential area in Palmdale after what appeared to be a body was found inside the vehicle, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy Don Walker told BuzzFeed News.

The vehicle was found buried in six feet of mud, NBC News reported, upside down and tilted. Firefighters called deputies after trying to dig the vehicle out and finding the body inside.

Vehicles are trapped by a mudslide on Highway 58 in Mojave, California on October 16, 2015.

Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images

The vehicle was buried last week as Southern California was slammed by a slow-moving storm, causing debris flows that damaged homes, roads, and buried several vehicles in some areas.

One rain gauge in the northern Los Angeles County community of Leona Valley reported 3.38 inches of rain in one hour, which the National Weather Service described as a “1,000-year rainfall event.”

Along Interstate 5 and Highway 58, about 200 vehicles were buried.

The damage prompted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency, as emergency personnel and public works officials try to get an estimate on the total cost of damage.

LINK: Insane Photos Show Mudslides That Shut Down Two Highways Near L.A.

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