Car lands in water at Captree car show

[Cmike2780]

Police are trying to determine how a car accelerated across a parking lot near the boat basin during a Captree State Park auto show Sunday, then launched into the nearby water with its driver inside.

The driver, whom police did not identify, swam to safety, according to witnesses. Capt. Bruce Marx of the state park police said the driver, a 30-year-old West Islip man, lost control of the car. "The vehicle crossed through the parking lot, over the grass and became submerged in a vacant slip," Marx said.

The driver of the silver, two-door Mazda RX-7 hit several motorcycles and a parked car as it quickly accelerated through the parking lot, Marx said. The driver was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip with undisclosed injuries. He was the only occupant of the car. No one else was injured, Marx said.

John Rodriguez, 45, of Smithtown, witnessed the accident and said the problem started when the car seemed to take off without its owner inside. He said the driver was standing with dozens of other people when the Mazda started moving.

"The car just ran away from him," Rodriguez said. The car's owner then chased his car and managed to get into the vehicle. After the driver grabbed the steering wheel, the car took off again. "It just accelerated very quickly, hit a plant, and spun," Rodriguez said. "It went airborne about 7 to 8 feet and hit the water."

Rodriguez said the driver was still behind the wheel when the car started filling with water. A crowd gathered and yelled for the driver to get out, he said. "As the car started sinking, he got out," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the driver was lucky to not hit any poles, boats or people in the busy area.

Gary Heicklen, of Douglaston, Queens, was several feet away but caught a glimpse of the 10 seconds of chaos. "I heard a noise, turned around and I saw a car in the air," he said. "The whole crowd turned around."
The car remained submerged for several hours before police used a crane to remove it from the water.

State park-police detectives are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident, Marx said.

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