'I thought it was a puddle': Tourist drives her car into Hawaii harbor while following her GPS as panicked witnesses scream at her to get out as it sinks - a month after another driver made the exact same mistake
- A video of the incident shows the woman's car slowly becoming submerged
- Good Samaritans came to her rescue and pulled her on board their boat at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kailua-Kona on the west of the island
- Panicked witnesses can be heard shouting at her to 'hurry up and get out'
- The incident happened on May 29 - exactly one month after another motorist made the same error driving a van into the harbor with a passenger on board
A tourist who drove her car into a Hawaii harbor while following her GPS said she mistook the sea for 'a puddle' - just one month after another motorist made the same mistake.
Footage of the incident shows the woman's car slowly becoming submerged in the water at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kailua-Kona on the west of the island as horrified witnesses scream at her to get out.
She told Hawaii Police she had been following her GPS directions without realizing it was leading her down a boat ramp.
A one-minute-43-second-long clip of the action shows rescuers approach her sinking 2020 Ford Edge, which is already halfway under, in the drizzling rain as one comments: 'What a way to end a day, huh?'
Witnesses can be heard frantically shouting: 'You've got to leave the car. You've got to leave the car right now'., as the woman slowly extends a bag containing her possessions out of the window.
They continue shouting: 'Hurry up and get out', as the activated windshield wipers dash water across the front of the car and it dips further below the surface.
A woman eventually emerges and doggy-paddles to the rescue boat laden with the bags from her car. Soaking wet and gasping for air, she clambers on board.
Hawaii Police said the incident happened Monday around 8pm, and the men who rescued her said she told them she mistook the sea for a large puddle.
One rescuer let out an audible sigh as the woman sorted her bags before climbing out of the car window
The rescuer pulled the soaking wet woman on board his boat
The woman was dripping and laden with bags as she climbed on board
Exactly one month earlier, on April 29, another woman was caught on camera driving her van - which had another passenger on board who was reportedly her sister - straight into the same harbor.
The pair had been trying to find a Manta Ray Snorkel tour company and took a wrong turn while following their GPS directions.
Witness Christie Hutchinson captured the dramatic moment on video, showing a sailboat crew swimming up to the women and helping them escape unharmed.
Two men tied a rope to the back of their silver Chrysler Town & Country and attempted to save the van but their efforts were ultimately in vain as it quickly sank into the harbor.
The rescuers helped the women from the vehicle towards shallower waters.
Though the sisters were making active attempts to escape the car, neither looked especially alarmed about what was going on.
Satellite images show that the boat ramp in question backs directly off a car park where the Manta Ray Snorkel tour company is based.
The incidents highlight how placing too much faith in technology alone can lead to dangerous situations, and drivers have been advised to use their common sense and keep their eyes on the road when following GPS directions.
