CAPE CORAL, Fla. — On Monday when it was revealed that 94-year-old Howard and 88-year-old Marilyn Cooper drowned after driving into a northwest Cape Coral canal, another family said the same thing could have happened to them. 

Vicki and Arnold Smith say on October 21, 2020, they too were driving down Kismet Parkway West during the evening hours when they plunged into the same canal. 

“We were lost and took the wrong road and we didn’t see any signs because there aren’t any. Then at one point we are off the road and flying into the air,” Vicki said.

This past Sunday, the Coopers made the same mistake, according to their niece Carla Pennington Bryant. 

“I’ve come to the conclusion that God knew they were going to die that day. They went to church together and then were going to go have dinner after they came back to our home. They got lost and well you know what happened next,” Bryant said.

Where the two stories differ can be found at the home on the edge of the road. When the Smiths crashed in 2020, a neighbor by the name of Michelle Schoenborn heard their screams. 

“Myself and my husband and other neighbors all came running and we heard her (Vicki) screaming for help because she said she couldn’t swim,” Schoenborn said.

However, when Marilyn and Howard crashed on Sunday, no one was there to hear or to help. 

“That eats me up. I didn’t hear a thing,” Schoenborn said.

Cape Coral police say in these instances both drivers were at fault. 

The family of the Coopers and the Smiths say they disagree. 

“How many more people have to crash? How many more people must die before a sign gets put in,” Vicki said.

Police say the Coopers died as a result of drowning and were found deceased in their car.  

The family plans to move their bodies to be buried in Alabama.