A Washington man has an absurd explanation for how his Chevrolet Suburban ended up submerged in a river. The driver claims to have intentionally driven his SUV into the water to fill up his radiator.
Police in Yakima, Washington, were called out to a strange scene on Tuesday, reports KIMA-TV. Callers reported seeing a SUV submerged in the Yakima River near Century Landing in Washington. When the Yakima County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene they found the owner nearby.
According to police, the man says that he intentionally drove his SUV into the river to fill its radiator with water, from KIMA-TV:
According to YCSO, the owner of the vehicle told them he had replaced the thermostat in the vehicle and needed to fill the radiator with water.
Deputies say the driver told them he intentionally drove the SUV into the water so that he could get water into the radiator.
Somehow, this driver found a worse explanation for submerging a car in water than trying to dodge a “low flying pelican.” There’s no word on if the driver succeeded in getting water into the radiator, or if they were charged with anything. The Suburban was towed out of the water.
I applaud the driver for changing out a thermostat but I’m not sure I’d recommend refilling a cooling system with river water. Think of all of the contaminants your coolant may now have!
Besides, straight water can freeze in the winter, potentially causing major damage. Our own David Tracy recommends picking up a gallon of distilled water and a gallon of concentrated coolant then pouring them into your car at the same time.
But I suppose if you want to fill the radiator and deep clean your car inside and out all in one go, a river would definitely do the trick.