"Car in Hotel Swimming Pool"

07/14/2002
"Car in Hotel Swimming Pool"

Oops!

This kind of story happens often in South Florida, but usually the senior citizen runs into a canal and drowns - making it a morbid story that I wouldn't link to readily. It always revives the debate about how Seniors should have to take rigorous and frequent driver's tests, but the AARP and other Senior lobbying groups oppose it. Thankfully, someone rescued this guy.

SAN DIEGO -- An intoxicated motorist was arrested Friday night after crashing his car into a swimming pool at a Mission Valley hotel, police said. Fortunately, no one was in the pool at the time of the crash.

It happened around 10:45 p.m. at the Travelodge in Hotel Circle. Police say an 81-year-old man was trying to back out of a parking space when he hit the gas pedal and smashed through a fence, plunging to the bottom of the swimming pool.

When officers arrived, they found a car submerged at the bottom of the pool. A witness jumped into the pool and rescued the driver by breaking the back window of the car. No one was injured in the accident.

The driver was arrested at the scene on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.

Officials say the pool will have to be drained before the car can be towed out of the pool.
[ via NBC San Diego ]

Replies: 2 comments

so not only was he 81, he was drunk!

Posted by kristen
Sunday, July 14, 2002 at 07:50 PM EST

Funny...We had an 81 year-old man drive into our car wash and destroy all of our equipment (10/99)...he claimed he was stepping on the brake when it happened...thank God the Registry of Motor Vehicles in Mass took away his licence a couple of days later...

Posted by Mike D
Wednesday, July 17, 2002 at 11:03 PM EST