New Bedford police, fire respond to car that rolled into water at West Beach

Matthew Ferreira, The Standard-Times
·1 min read
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NEW BEDFORD — New Bedford police and fire responded to a boat ramp at West Beach Monday afternoon for a vehicle that had rolled into the water.

According to Deputy Fire Chief Brian Medeiros, a woman was on the boat ramp off of Rodney French Boulevard sitting in her car — a silver Acura ILX — watching the boats, when a bee reportedly flew into her car, prompting her to flee the vehicle.

"She jumped out, probably not realizing the car was not in park, and it started rolling," Medeiros said.

New Bedford Police officer Paul Fonseca helps to tie a rope to a car that ended up in the water off of West Beach in New Bedford after the motorist became distracted by a bee.
New Bedford Police officer Paul Fonseca helps to tie a rope to a car that ended up in the water off of West Beach in New Bedford after the motorist became distracted by a bee.

The car was partially submerged, Medeiros said, by the time Sgt. Paul Fonseca from New Bedford Police Department's Marine Unit went into the water in a wetsuit to secure a rope to it. Then, police and fire personnel held on to keep the car from drifting further while waiting for a tow company to arrive. After that, Medeiros said removal of the vehicle was relatively quick and simple.

Medeiros said there were no injuries as a result of the incident.

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This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford police, fire help retrieve car from water at West Beach