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Well, it’s apparently time for our annual person following their GPS drives their car straight into a body of water story.
For our latest version of this tale as old as GPS, we head to Hawaii’s Big Island and the Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kailua-Kona.
The incident occurred this past Saturday and, of course, the aftermath was all caught on video.
Christie Hutchinson, who witnessed the minivan splashing into the water with a couple of tourists inside told the Washington Post, “I was just sitting there trying to seek shelter from the rain, and then the next thing, I saw a car drive directly past our boat straight into the harbor at a pretty decent speed. It was so confidently done, they didn’t have a look of panic on their face. They were still smiling.”
Hutchinson also told Hawaii News Now, “I think they just must’ve taken their eyes off the road for a second, and I think everyone is a bit shocked because we saw this car go straight into the harbor. And it took us a second to figure out what was going on because they didn’t seem panicked or have any sense of urgency to get out of the car.”
No, they certainly didn’t.
The driver of the sinking car is seen in the video just sitting there and smiling at onlookers with her seat belt on while the water filled up the cabin. The other woman in the passenger seat, reportedly her sister, eventually climbed out of the window and walked to shore.
The driver did finally attempt to climb out, but just sat there in the window as a group of men tried to haul the minivan back to dry land.
The minivan, despite the guys’ best efforts, ended up being completely submerged and had to be pulled out of the harbor by a tow truck.
Samantha Tavares, an information specialist for Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, told the Post, “If you see a body of water, don’t drive towards it.”
On the plus side, it definitely could have been worse.
Obligatory The Office video below…