Two people died Monday after a van drove off the south jetty in Venice Monday afternoon. Boaters and other passersby reported seeing a white Dodge Caravan go in the water. A few people tried to swim out to the car, but the outgoing tide combined with the van taking on water sunk it fairly quickly. One Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputy who spotted the van went in and tried to save the passengers but was overtaken by the current. Hours after the van disappeared under the water line, divers found it in 15 feet of water. Two unidentified people inside were pronounced dead at the scene.
