Woman drives car on Canal and plunges into freezing water

Dan Smith MARCH 6, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS—A woman driver drove her car into a canal before crashing through the ice and into freezing cold water, the Indianapolis Fire Department reported. The woman told her firefighters that she was following her GPS.

canal car.jpeg — The driver was already out of the vehicle when IFD arrived at the scene.

The IFD was dispatched to the canal at about 11:03 pm and received a report that a vehicle had entered the canal and that bystanders were trying to help. By the time IFD divers arrived at the scene, the driver had already left the vehicle. The driver told firefighters that her GPS led her to a canal near the Colts Canal playspace on the outskirts of St. Clair St.

carcanal sink.jpeg — The driver's car broke the ice as he turned and tried to head south down the canal.

The driver went down the embankment, through the park, and headed north on the canal. Because the driver came to a dead end at 10 o'clock^th St. She turned the car around and tried to head south. Her car crashed through the ice before she reached New York Street.

The driver told firefighters that her GPS had led her to the canal.

The driver got out of the car with the help of bystanders and waited in the lobby of a nearby hotel. Doctors checked her at the scene and she was taken to Eskenazi Hospital for further evaluation.

This incident is still under investigation.