Van Crashes Into A Central Park Lake

Van Crashes Into A Central Park Lake: MyFoxNY.com

Dad, where's your car?

Try: sinking fast in Central Park, where a driver with a few father issues steered a speeding minivan into the waters of the Harlem Meer yesterday afternoon, eyewitnesses said.

"He was just going straight," said Robert Evan Flores, 17, who watched in disbelief as the teal Nissan Quest plunged into the lake.

"It looked like he meant to do it," said Flores. "He looked like he was crazy."

The sopping wet driver, after fleeing the sinking vehicle, was helped to shore by rescuers who just minutes earlier were enjoying a summer afternoon in the northeast corner of the park.

"He said, 'My father cares more about that van than he does about me,'" recounted witness John McBride. "Then he sat down. He didn't try to resist or run. ... It was insane."

The driver also mumbled something about his girlfriend before police, firefighters and EMTs reached the scene.

The unidentified man was alone inside the vehicle as he sped down a pedestrian path toward the water. McBride, in the park with his pregnant wife, said they had just put a blanket down when the van appeared.

"He blew right by us," said McBride. "And he blew right into the lake."

The driver bailed out of the car quickly as onlookers rushed to his aid. He was strapped to a body board by emergency medical workers and taken to St. Luke's Hospital, police said.

Witnesses said the driver suffered no apparent physical injuries in the bizarre incident.

"He was just so peaceful," McBride said. "He was fine."