A BMW driver ended up driving their pricey £63,000 electric vehicle straight into a river after crashing through safety barriers.
The event left locals in the town centre of Hitchin, Herts, gobsmacked when the heavy SUV ended up in the River Hiz on Saturday.
Onlookers watched as the parked BMW IX3 electric SUV at Portmill Lane West Car Park took an unexpected dive into the river.
Thankfully, the driver was reported to have exited the car safely despite it being almost fully underwater.
It’s suggested that the accident occurred when the driver, believed to be a middle-aged lady, mistakenly pressed the accelerator when she thought her electric vehicle was in park.
Stunned eyewitnesses described seeing the parked car all of a sudden bolt towards the water.
An onlooker named Casey Gutterridge, 32, shared: “The only thing I heard was someone say the woman hadn’t had the car for too long.
“One minute she was in the car and the next minute she was in the water.
“With electric cars you don’t know it’s running sometimes. I think she’s not had the car long and then this happened.
“We were driving past and we saw loads of sirens. We parked up and within a minute or two saw a car in the water.
“There were two traffic wardens looking in the distance which was quite funny.
“By the looks of it was taken out around three or four hours later. I imagine because it’s electric they have to make sure it’s fine.
“It’s really lucky that no one was hurt. A lot of families use that pathway along the river.”
Hertfordshire Police and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and the vehicle was lifted and placed on a recovery truck just before 7pm.
