‘I thought it was a puddle’: Tourist drives her car into Hawaii harbor while following her GPS
‘I thought it was a puddle’: Tourist drives her car into Hawaii harbor following her GPS as panicked witnesses yell at her to get out as it sinks — a month after another driver made the exact same mistake
- A video of the incident shows how the woman’s car is slowly flooded
- Good Samaritans came to her aid and pulled her aboard their boat at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kailua-Kona, on the west side of the island.
- Panicked witnesses can be heard yelling at her to ‘hurry up and get out’
- The incident took place on May 29 – exactly one month after another motorist made the same mistake by driving a van into the harbor with a passenger on board
A tourist who drove her car into a Hawaii harbor while following her GPS said she mistook the sea for “a puddle” — just a month after another motorist made the same mistake.
Footage from the incident shows the woman’s car slowly submerging at the Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kailua-Kona in the west of the island, as shocked witnesses yell at her to get out.
She told Hawaii Police that she followed her GPS directions without realizing it was diverting her down a boat ramp.
A one-minute, 43-second clip of the action shows rescuers approaching her sinking 2020 Ford Edge, already half submerged, in the drizzle, with one of them remarking, “What a way to end a day.” end, huh?’
Witnesses are heard shouting frantically, “You have to get out of the car. You need to get out of the car now,” as the woman slowly slides a bag containing her belongings out the window.
They keep yelling, “Hurry up and get out,” as the activated windshield wipers splash water across the front of the car and it sinks further below the surface.
A woman eventually emerges and doggie paddles to the lifeboat, laden with the bags from her car. Soaking wet and gasping for air, she clambers aboard.
Hawaii police said the incident happened around 8 p.m. Monday, and the men who rescued her said she told them she mistook the sea for a large puddle.
A rescue worker let out an audible sigh as the woman sorted her bags before climbing out of the car window
The rescuer pulled the soaking wet woman aboard his boat
The woman was dripping and laden with bags when she climbed aboard
Exactly one month earlier, on April 29, another woman was caught on camera driving her van — which had another passenger allegedly her sister on board — directly into the same port.
The pair were looking for a Manta Ray Snorkel tour company and took a wrong turn while following their GPS directions.
Witness Christie Hutchinson captured the dramatic moment on video, in which a sailboat crew swam over to the women and helped them escape unharmed.
Two men tied a rope to the back of their silver Chrysler Town & Country and tried to save the van, but their efforts were ultimately in vain as it quickly sank into the harbor.
The rescuers helped the women out of the vehicle into shallower water.
Although the sisters actively tried to escape the car, neither seemed particularly alarmed about what was going on.
Satellite imagery shows that the boat ramp in question is directly adjacent to a parking lot where the Manta Ray Snorkel travel agency is located.
The incidents show how over-reliance on technology alone can lead to dangerous situations, and drivers are advised to use common sense and keep their eyes on the road when following GPS directions.