Two tourists driving on the Island of Hawaii took the GPS directions literally when they decided to follow instructions and drive into the ocean.
The Seattle Times interviewed bystander Christie Hutchinson, who recorded the ordeal on her phone. After the accident, the Seattle Times says the driver blamed her GPS for routing them down the boat ramp.
Ms Hutchinson recalls sitting near the boat ramp as her husband was packing up their boat after a day out on the water, when she saw a Dodge Caravan (once sold as the Chrysler Voyager in Australia) driving down the launch ramp at the port.
“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 harbour at a pretty decent speed,” said Christie Hutchinson.
“It was so confidently done, they didn’t have a look of panic on their face. They were still smiling.”
Once Ms Hutchinson realised what was happening, she began recording as local boat crews jumped in to aid the duo.
The video posted to YouTube shows the people mover with it lights and windscreen wipers on as its continues to float out to sea.
The front passenger, who was later revealed to be the driver’s sister, can be seen escaping via the front passenger side window and swimming to safety.
The driver stayed in the car with her seatbelt clasped for quite some time before being rescued by Mr Hutchinson.
Not even a minute after everyone was safely rescued from the vehicle, the car – which is assumed to be a hire vehicle – can be seen rapidly sinking before becoming completely submerged.
It is reported that the vehicle was recovered from the water a few hours later by a tow truck crew.
An employee named Ashley from the Manta-Ray Dives of Hawaii, says “It’s not the first time, and it probably won’t be the last” time a tourist drives into the ocean based on GPS directions.
