A woman in Canada faces harsh criticism for having her priorities skewed whilst rescuers rush to save her life.
This bizarre event unfolded in Ottawa on January 15th, after she sped across the solid, icy river in her yellow car.
A photo circulated of the woman, who was smiling at her camera as the car sank deeper and deeper into the water. Despite the shouts from onlookers and rescuers, the woman seemed unfazed that her life was in danger.
Check out the video here:
The woman found herself in the dangerous situation after speeding across the river’s surface. However, the weight of the car broke the ice, and the car began to sink into the freezing water.
The driver managed to climb on to the roof of her car to avoid the water, and onlookers rushed forward to help her using kayaks and ropes.
According to local resident Lynda Douglas, the woman didn’t appear in any rush to escape the dangerous situation, as she was spotting stretching her arm out in what appeared to be her taking a selfie of the accident.
When sharing the photo to Twitter, Douglas wrote: ‘She captured the moment with a selfie while people hurried and worried to help her.’
Douglas snapped the pic of the woman as she was on the phone to 911. A picture from another onlooker shows the woman staring into the water as her car continues to sink deeper, and deeper.
Thanks to the quick response of those around her, the woman made it out of the situation safely, but she refused treatment at the scene.
Her car wasn’t so lucky, as it was fully submerged, but onlookers feared that she may not have been the only person in the vehicle, as in another video one onlooker can be heard saying ‘everyone was out of the car?’
Another witness, Zachary King, who helped with the rescue said things could’ve gone a lot worse. The female driver was rescued with a kayak, but at that point her car had fully submerged.
“So luckily one of my other neighbours, Rob Crober, had a rope that he had got, so he ran back to his place to grab one of his kayaks off his kayak rack. It’s like everything worked out perfectly. Got her on the kayak, pulled her in. And as soon as we pulled her in, the car went under. Fully,” said King.
Ottawa Police confirmed that the woman was rescued by kayak, and thanked witnesses for their quick thinking. However, they confirmed the woman was charged with ‘one count of Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle under the Criminal Code of Canada’ following the incident.
They proceeded to warn residents about the dangerous ice conditions at this time of year, and to keep themselves safe.
