A woman who crashed through the ice while driving on a frozen river in the outskirts of Ottawa found time to snap some selfies as nearby residents dragged over a kayak to rescue her from the roof of her sinking car.
The unidentified woman stood atop her yellow sedan as it sank under the ice of the Rideau River in the suburb of Manotick Sunday afternoon.
She was pictured taking photos of herself as the vehicle sank further down, with only the roof of the car peering over the cold water by the time she was rescued.
In videos posted on social media, two people are seen hauling a blue kayak toward the scene of the accident. The woman gets on top of it and is pulled out to safety via a rope tied to the watercraft.
‘Oh well. I guess I’ll walk,’ she says later, standing on solid ground.
She was the only person in the car. Police responded at about 4.30pm, and she was charged with one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, though driving on frozen water isn’t illegal in itself.
An unidentified woman stood on the roof of her yellow sedan as it sank under the ice of the Rideau River in the suburb of Manotick on Sunday afternoon
In video taken by bystanders, the woman appears calm and patient as her car slowly skins more and more into the river
She was eventually pulled out to safety by two nearby residents who brought over a kayak
Paramedics were at the scene, but said the woman didn’t want to be seen, according to the National Post newspaper.
One Twitter user claims he saw the woman ‘rip by’ him
It is unclear where she came from or where she was headed, but one Twitter user claims he saw her ‘rip by’ and said it was ‘not surprising she went through ice there.’
One video shows the car speeding down the frozen river, but it’s unclear if it was intentional or if the car was simply skidding rapidly down the ice.
After the car crashed through, the preternaturally calm woman simply waited to be rescued .
‘Ice conditions at this time of the year can be unpredictable. The Ottawa Police Service would like to remind residents to stay off the ice and remember “No Ice is Safe Ice.”‘
In videos from the scene, two people haul a kayak over to help the woman as bystanders film the rescue. She was eventually dragged out to safety.
‘Don’t go toward the car. Please come closer,’ one man urges off-camera as the woman appears to inch closer to the broken ice atop the river.
The woman’s misfortune was posted on Twitter. She was uninjured and appeared to be the only person in the car
The vehicle is still in the river, with police warning that it ‘could pose as a hazard for curious onlookers venturing out on the ice’
‘Oh well. I guess I’ll walk,’ she says as she watches her car sink further into the river.
It is not illegal to drive on frozen water in Canada. However, some have called for speed limits for this kind of driving.
‘Driving on frozen lakes and rivers is generally safe, so long as you properly plan for the winter adventure,’ according to Outdoor Canada magazine.
The vehicle is still in the river, with police warning that it ‘could pose as a hazard for curious onlookers venturing out on the ice.’
Source: Daily Mail