It’s not often we here at The Autopian write about car crashes, but when we do, it’s because the wreck involves something absolutely ridiculous we have never seen before. That’s exactly the case with this alleged drunk driver crash, which shows an ejected driver being saved by a swimming pool that happened to be in the exact spot they were ejected from the car.
The incident, which was caught on video, shows the driver being ejected from their vehicle after a violent rollover into the backyard of a Clark County, Nevada home. By some miracle, instead of going headfirst into the pavement, they landed in the water.
“Lucky” doesn’t even begin to describe this series of events.
This Person Is Fortunate To Be Alive
Fox 5 Las Vegas says the crash happened the night of December 15. It resulted in the vehicle, a third-generation Chevrolet Equinox, smashing through a property wall and landing on a poolhouse roof, before ripping down a patio.
Homeowner Cletis Reed heard the crash and came outside to find his backyard destroyed and the driver floating in his pool.
“It sounded like a freight train. I figured something happened in the street and I come out to see my entire backyard destroyed,” Reed said. “I mean everything was just blown up. The patio is on the ground, the lady is floating in my pool.”
Video from Reed’s surveillance camera, published to YouTube by Local 12 in Nevada, captured the moment the Chevy came careening into the yard. If you watch closely, you can actually see the driver being ejected and landing in the pool.
A crash report obtained by Fox 5 Vegas says the driver was speeding moments before the crash and “failed to stop” before hitting a “block wall,” which launched them into the air. If that isn’t wild enough, the driver was able to stand up and converse with the cops minutes after her dip into the waist-deep shallow end.
Reed said the driver was conscious when he pulled her from the water.
“She kept floating face up, she flipped over face down, she snuck under water. She was conscious, but she was moaning and groaning. We get her out, God’s witness, she stands up 15 minutes later getting interviewed by police,” Reed said.
The car landed in such a position that a tow truck had to use a crane to remove it from the property.
From being ejected from a flying car to being able to stand and talk within the time it takes to watch an episode of The Simpsons is pretty damn good. I can’t even begin to imagine the odds of this actually happening. No one else was involved in the crash, though Reed told Fox he nearly got into the jacuzzi before making a last-minute detour—something he says saved his life.
Reed said he was moments away from getting into his hot tub, which was located next to the wall that was destroyed in the crash.
“I popped the cover on and I was like, you know, I gotta tell my wife something. And by the grace of God I’m here and the patio goes bam. I would have been dead,” Reed said. “It would have killed me.”
Following the crash, the driver was taken to a hospital in Arizona. They have not yet been charged with a crime, though Fox 5 Vegas says the person “has previous traffic violations.”
Someone’s Gonna Have To Pay For This
For the driver’s sake, I hope they have insurance, because this damage won’t be cheap to fix. In addition to the poolhouse (which needs its roof repaired), the wall, (which needs to be rebuilt), and the patio (which needs to be replaced), there’s also the issue of the pool itself.
The water is, according to Reed, contaminated with motor oil, which means all 25,000 gallons will have to be drained so the pool and its systems can be properly cleaned. All in, Reed told Fox he estimates repairs for all of the damage will cost about $300,000. Yikes.
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this incident, the biggest being to always wear your seatbelt. Because should you be thrown from your car – no matter the reason – there will very likely not be a swimming pool there to catch you.
Top graphic image: Fox Local 12
I wave a few bottles, then I watch ’em all flock
All the girls wanna play Baywatch
I got a swimming pool full of liquor and they drive in it
Pool full of liquor I’mma drive in it
I’d say the much larger lesson here is to not drink and drive.
Vegas or Laughlin NV? I THINK she said Laughlin and given the AZ Hospital I think it is down in Laughlin. I think I recognize the station and the reporter from my BHC days. Either way weird
That thing decanted her right in the pool. I wouldn’t be surprised if she smacked the bottom pretty hard.
I’m just surprised it wasn’t a Raiders player.
It’s Vegas, baby! I lived there for 23 years, just another night in the valley.