A Hawaii tourist flees her sinking car after driving into the water at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor on May 29.
Courtesy of Drew SolmonsonA tourist drove her car into the water at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor on the Big Island exactly a month after an identical incident at the same harbor in Hawaii.
Two fishers were nearby to assist the motorist and filmed the vehicle sinking late May 29. Drew Solmonson and his son Mason captured the moment and shared it on Instagram. In the video, the car slowly sinks into the harbor as the high beams light up the emerald water.
In the video, the fishers yell for the driver to immediately abandon the vehicle as she grabs her belongings and attempts to turn off the windshield wipers. As the motorist swims to their boat, sirens are heard approaching the dock.
“What a way to end the day, huh?” Mason Solmonson said in the clip. Drew Solmonson added in the comment section that he watched the motorist drive into the water from the top of the ramp.
“We were trying to land the boat and screaming the whole time to get her attention but her GPS had told her to go there so she drove right in,” he explained. World Surf League champion Kelly Slater responded, “So many questions,” to the clip.
Hawaii News Now reported that the visitor suffered no injuries and the vehicle has since been salvaged.
Ryan Aguilar, spokesperson with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, told SFGATE that there are no plans to add signage to the harbor. “It’s really clear that it is a ramp and it leads directly into the water,” he said.