Crime & Safety
Hyundai Driven Off Boat Ramp, Into Water In Avon Lake
Here's the scary part: the driver was not impaired, wasn't trying to hurt herself, and doesn't remember the incident.
AVON LAKE, OH — Avon Lake Police and a tow company had to fish a car out of about 10 feet of water on September 16. Records say the 2013 Hyundai Sonata was driven off a ramp at a Miller Road launch facility, with the car landing in the water.
A little before 3 a.m. last Sunday, multiple callers reported seeing a car driven into the water after going off the boat launch ramp. Callers initially said the driver had stayed in the vehicle, but she had actually escaped the Sonata before it submerged.
When police arrived on the scene, the driver of the car, a 37-year-old woman from Avon, was standing in the parking lot of the launch facility. She was taken to the Cleveland Clinic Emergency Room for evaluation.
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Patton's Towing Service was called to the scene and had to pull the Sonata out of the water. Police records said the car had sunk about 10 feet into Lake Erie.
It is not clear why the woman drove the car off the ramp. Avon Lake Police told Patch the woman was not intoxicated, though she did admit to having two mixed drinks before driving, and did not intend to harm herself.
Find out what's happening in Avon-Avon Lakefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In the investigative report obtained by Patch, police said there were bruises on the woman's face that were consistent with a fight. Investigators believe the woman may have been in an altercation at the bar where she had the mixed drinks.
Video footage obtained by police showed the Sonata approaching the boat launch ramp. Before the car goes into the water, the brake lights can be seen coming on. The footage shows the driver staying inside the car for at least four minutes before getting out of the vehicle and into the water.
It took five minutes for the Sonata to submerge.
The woman does not remember driving the boat off the ramp. Her last memory of the incident is water coming through the windows of the car. She told police she's grateful to be alive.
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Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch
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