A father taking his daughter to school in Derbyshire has been killed after his car skidded into an icy river, only minutes before his wife, on a school run with their son, also crashed into the water.
The two children and their mother managed to escape unhurt from the cars but, despite desperate attempts by local residents, the father could not be saved and died in hospital.
David Cox, 42 was driving along a bridle path which runs near the Monsal Trail, north of the A6 in Derbyshire, when his Toyota Aygo veered off the path and became submerged in the River Wye.
A second car, a Toyota Rav4, driven by his 39-year-old wife Ruth and carrying their nine-year-old son, Ioan, was travelling just behind them before it too left the path and entered the water.
Neighbour Victoria Bamber, 32, said Ioan came running down the country lane shouting for help.
She said: "He came banging on the door saying 'There's been an accident, Daddy is trapped'. When I got to the scene, I could only see the silver 4x4 upside down in the water and Ruth was desperately trying to find David."
She said she waded into the freezing cold water to try to help Mr Cox and after locals managed to drag him out, emergency services personnel began resuscitation attempts on the riverbank.
Police said the man later died at Stepping Hill Hospital. It is believed he was in the water for about 40 minutes.