Grand Forks residents woke up Saturday morning to find a silver four-door sedan nestled on the rocky bottom of the Kettle River near the black train bridge near Kettle River Drive and 13th Street.
In the early morning of Nov. 16, a driver apparently travelling northeast on Kettle River Drive launched over the bank into the water. The driver, a 24-year-old woman, survived and got themselves to shore and up the riverbank, under the guidance of a witness to the scene.
Grand Forks RCMP attended and administered a breathalyzer test to the driver, which RCMP said she failed.
RCMP said they then issued the driver a 90-day driving prohibition and that the car, once removed from the river, will be impounded for 30 days.
The driver was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but police say she only sustained “relatively minor injuries” from the crash.
“Police are investigating reports that the driver performed an evasive manoeuver to avoid colliding with wildlife,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey of the RCMP Southeast District. “Although speed has not been ruled out, investigators do believe that alcohol was a factor in this early morning crash.”
As of Nov. 18 at 9 a.m., the car was still in the river. RCMP said that the cost to remove the car from the river will fall on the driver.
