Two Texas men died Friday after they tried to jump over an open drawbridge with their car, authorities said.

Louisiana State Police responded to a single-car crash shortly after 2 a.m. at the Black Bayou Bridge about six miles south of Lake Charles. Investigators said the bridge was closed to traffic to let a boat pass.

A witness told police that the passenger got out of the car and pushed the gate arm up. The man then got back into the car as the driver drove toward the ramp at the end of the bridge, the police department said in a press release on its Facebook page.

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The driver stopped briefly, reversed and then "accelerated forward in an attempt to 'jump' the ramp of the bridge." police said.

The car landed in the water and sank to the bottom. The driver was found inside the car, and the passenger was found outside the vehicle after first managing to escape, investigators said. The men, whose identities have not been revealed, were pronounced dead at the scene.