Jennygirl
04-24-2007, 09:55 AM
(CBS) HUDSON, Wis. A Twin Cities man crashed his car into the St. Croix River in Hudson, Wis., Sunday night after the Wisconsin State Patrol says he was changing a CD in his dashboard player, reports Lisa Kiava of CBS station WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.
A broken fence and skid mark show where a 47-year-old man from Lakeland, Minn., started to drive down the embankment toward the river from westbound Interstate 94.
The Wisconsin State Patrol said it didn't take long for the man's car to begin filling with water. Eventually it was submerged in four feet of the St. Croix River, up to the roof line.
The driver managed to free himself before water filled the Chevy Malibu.
"Driver indicated to me that he was coming up the ramp, changing his CD on his radio and lost control. He did go down the embankment, he did end up in the water with his vehicle," said Sgt. Brian Erickson of the Wisconsin State Patrol.
The driver swam less than 10 feet to shore and was wet, but not hurt.
"He said it was a rather scary event trying to get the car open under the water pressure," said Erickson.
It was pouring rain at the time of the accident and that may have contributed to what happened. A tow truck and a diver had to haul the vehicle from the St. Croix River. The driver was cited for inattentive driving.
The state trooper hopes the crash will remind people that distracted driving, from using cell phones to changing CDs, can cause a crash in an instant.
A broken fence and skid mark show where a 47-year-old man from Lakeland, Minn., started to drive down the embankment toward the river from westbound Interstate 94.
The Wisconsin State Patrol said it didn't take long for the man's car to begin filling with water. Eventually it was submerged in four feet of the St. Croix River, up to the roof line.
The driver managed to free himself before water filled the Chevy Malibu.
"Driver indicated to me that he was coming up the ramp, changing his CD on his radio and lost control. He did go down the embankment, he did end up in the water with his vehicle," said Sgt. Brian Erickson of the Wisconsin State Patrol.
The driver swam less than 10 feet to shore and was wet, but not hurt.
"He said it was a rather scary event trying to get the car open under the water pressure," said Erickson.
It was pouring rain at the time of the accident and that may have contributed to what happened. A tow truck and a diver had to haul the vehicle from the St. Croix River. The driver was cited for inattentive driving.
The state trooper hopes the crash will remind people that distracted driving, from using cell phones to changing CDs, can cause a crash in an instant.