It was a normal Saturday on Hawaii’s Big Island for resident Christie Hutchinson and her husband, Sean. They had spent the day sailing on their boat, the Nanea, with their friends. It had started to rain, but they were about to haul the boat out of Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in the town of Kailua-Kona. Then a Dodge Caravan rolled down the boat ramp.
“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,” Hutchinson said. “It was so confidently done, they didn’t have a look of panic on their face. They were still smiling.”
Hutchinson started filming a video of the incident with her phone as the tourists, who she says were two sisters, were already headlights deep in the gray harbor water, their windshield wipers still wiping. In the video, as rain continues to fall, you can hear Hutchinson ask aloud, “What ... is going on?” followed by “pretty sure that was not supposed to happen.”
The driver of the sinking car is shown sitting with her seat belt on. The front-seat passenger crawls out of her window and wades to shore, while the driver unbuckles her seat belt and tries to climb out of her window. Several men, including Sean Hutchinson, dive into the water and toss ropes and a buoy to attach to the van. Eventually Sean Hutchinson helps the driver from the car and carries her to the ramp.
“She mentioned she’s got a heart condition, and that’s why it took her so long to get out of the water,” Hutchinson said.
It didn’t surprise Hutchinson that her husband jumped in to help.
“He’s grown up in water his whole life surfing. He’s worked at boat docks,” she said. “I feel like that’s a natural response for him, so I was very proud.”
After the rescue, Hutchinson said, the tourists mentioned they had been following their GPS to find a manta ray tour. Seeing the Hutchinsons’ car parked on the ramp, ready to pull their boat out of the water, may have confused the driver. No matter the reason, the car was doomed shortly after making contact with the water. In the 4 minute and 26 second video, the car disappears below the surface. Hutchinson said the rescuers anchored the van so it wouldn’t float farther into the harbor and be a danger to boats. It was hauled out a few hours later by a tow crews, HawaiiNewsNow reported.
“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,” Hutchinson said. “It was so confidently done, they didn’t have a look of panic on their face. They were still smiling.”
Hutchinson started filming a video of the incident with her phone as the tourists, who she says were two sisters, were already headlights deep in the gray harbor water, their windshield wipers still wiping. In the video, as rain continues to fall, you can hear Hutchinson ask aloud, “What ... is going on?” followed by “pretty sure that was not supposed to happen.”
The driver of the sinking car is shown sitting with her seat belt on. The front-seat passenger crawls out of her window and wades to shore, while the driver unbuckles her seat belt and tries to climb out of her window. Several men, including Sean Hutchinson, dive into the water and toss ropes and a buoy to attach to the van. Eventually Sean Hutchinson helps the driver from the car and carries her to the ramp.
“She mentioned she’s got a heart condition, and that’s why it took her so long to get out of the water,” Hutchinson said.
It didn’t surprise Hutchinson that her husband jumped in to help.
“He’s grown up in water his whole life surfing. He’s worked at boat docks,” she said. “I feel like that’s a natural response for him, so I was very proud.”
After the rescue, Hutchinson said, the tourists mentioned they had been following their GPS to find a manta ray tour. Seeing the Hutchinsons’ car parked on the ramp, ready to pull their boat out of the water, may have confused the driver. No matter the reason, the car was doomed shortly after making contact with the water. In the 4 minute and 26 second video, the car disappears below the surface. Hutchinson said the rescuers anchored the van so it wouldn’t float farther into the harbor and be a danger to boats. It was hauled out a few hours later by a tow crews, HawaiiNewsNow reported.
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