Drowning victim in car crash was 22-year-old University High School alumna

The woman who drowned after her car entered the Spokane River on Wednesday has been identified by the Spokane County Medical Examiner as 22-year-old Rachel F. Bowles of Spokane Valley.

Bowles graduated from University High School and worked at Ferraro’s Family Italian Restaurant in Spokane Valley.

“She had a really good soul and she was always really happy,” said Angie Ferraro Fogal, Bowles’ co-worker of about four years. “Customers loved her.”

At about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Bowles’ car plunged into the Spokane River in the vicinity of Long Road and Montgomery Avenue near the Centennial Trail in Spokane Valley. The car drove through private property and down a steep embankment, before it came to rest upside down and was partially submerged.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.