Car Crashes Off Bridge Abutment Into Cape Cod Canal

BOURNE (CBS) -- A man was pulled from the Cape Cod Canal Tuesday morning after his vehicle flew off a bridge abutment and plunged into the water.

According to Bourne Police, the man suffered only minor injuries.

Two witnesses who were in a seating area above the canal told WBZ-TV's Anna Meiler a man walked up to them, started talking to them, then got back into his car and drove through the seating area.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life," said witness Jack Neal.

"It was like watching, like a movie," said Ryan Correia.

The car went off the bridge abutment and dropped 35-to-40 feet into the canal.

Cell phone video shows the driver's head pop up. He swims to the edge. Police say he took that drive intentionally.

"He hit the guardrail, went over the edge took out the two wires and then landed in the canal," Correia said.

Those power lines went down on the service road and in the water. Witnesses yelled to passers-by to watch out.

"We're very fortunate that he did survive and it wasn't a busy Saturday or Sunday when we have countless visitors walking or biking the canal," said Dep. Chief Joe Carrara of the Bourne Fire Department.

Canal Service Road was closed near Bourne Town Hall and the area was blocked off by crime scene tape as crews pulled the car out of the water.

In addition to police, the Bourne Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police, and the Army Corps of Engineers responded.

The man's name has not been made public. He has been charged with operating to endanger, malicious destruction of property and speeding.

• Christina Hager