Boat launch mishap sees vehicle submerged in Okanagan Lake

| August 12, 2017 in Kelowna

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A driver of a vehicle and trailer carrying a boat endured a series of unfortunate events on Friday afternoon when all of the above - including the driver ended up in Okanagan Lake.

Sometime around 3 p.m. on Friday, August 11th, witnesses from Rose's Waterfront Pub watched a truck and trailer go completely under water at the boat launch outside the pub.

"He was totally submerged. Right under. Trailer and all was in there. The only thing floatin' was his boat," said Shawn Daley, cook at Rose's Waterfront Pub.

Onlookers thought the driver must have accidentally put the vehicle in reverse instead of forward.

"I think he just forgot to put it in drive and hit the gas and away he went," said Daley.

Daley was watching from the patio and said there were about 100 other people witnessing the event.

According to Daley, the driver didn't have far to swim.

"All he did was climb out his window and the dock was right there."

He added that the vehicle was submerged for at least half an hour, maybe longer, before two tow trucks arrived.

"One came with the winch which pulled them out and then there was a flatbed that took them away. Someone had to swim under the water to hook the winch up and once they got it hooked up they just pulled him out," he said.

RCMP officers were also on the scene.

Daley said he's never seen anything like this before outside the pub.

"The last funny thing I saw was when someone drove off the steps here in their car. There's three concrete steps out front here, and they drove up on the boardwalk and I guess they decided to drive off the steps. It took their undercarriage right out," he said.

Hopefully he has insurance to cover the damage.

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