A rental car that was accidentally driven off of Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara was pulled from the ocean on Saturday.
With the help of divers in the water, a crane was used to hoist the Volkswagen Passat from 20-25 feet of water on the side of the wharf.
A tourist escaped serious injury Friday afternoon when he drove the vehicle off of the wharf.
The accident occurred at about 1:45 p.m. on the eastern side of the wharf, according to Battalion Chief Mike De Ponce of the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
The male driver, who was the sole occupant, was able to get out of the vehicle and swim back to the wharf and climb back up to the top, De Ponce said.
He sustained minor injuries, including cuts and bruises from the airbag deployment, according to fire Engineeer Kevin Corbett.
De Ponce said he didn’t know what caused the driver to end up in the water, although he speculated that he put the vehicle in drive instead of reverse as he was getting ready to leave.
There is only a 4-by-6-inch barrier in this location to prevent a vehicle from rolling forward, he said.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
