Tourists Drive Minivan Into Hawaii Harbor After Following GPS Directions

Two tourists drove their minivan into a boat harbor in Hawaii after their GPS directed them to do so. They had to be rescued by witnesses who were on the dock.

Photo of yachts at a harbor
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Image via Getty/shutterjack

Photo of yachts at a harbor

A GPS system routed two tourists into the water at a harbor in Hawaii.

The Washington Postreports that on Saturday, two women were driving to a manta ray tour in Kailua-Kona when they accidentally drove their minivan into the water at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor.

The incident was captured on camera by a witness, Christie Hutchinson, who had arrived back at the harbor after spending the morning on the water with her husband and some friends. “I think they just must’ve taken their eyes off the road for a second,” she told Hawaii News Now.

Hutchinson saw the car drive down the boat ramp and into the water. “I was just sitting there trying to seek shelter from the rain, and then the next thing, I saw a car drive directly past our boat straight into the harbor at a pretty decent speed,” she added.

In the video, neither the driver nor the passenger—who are sisters—seem worried after having driven into the water. People standing on the dock yell at the women to get out of the Dodge Caravan that they were driving.

“I think everyone is a bit shocked,” Hutchinson told the outlet, saying it “took us a second to figure out what was going on because they didn’t seem panicked or have any sense of urgency to get out of the car.”

A handful of people jumped into the water to help the women exit the vehicle as it sank into the water. The passenger escaped by climbing out of the window, as did the driver, and neither were injured. By the time the emergency crews got to the scene, the minivan was submerged and had to be towed.

“Usually GPS is pretty accurate in Hawaii,” Samantha Tavares, information specialist for Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, told the Post. “It’s not exactly normal for that to happen.”

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