Mary Watkins, her son Larry and her chihuahua Cantinflas are a little damp, but they’re OK after their 2014 Dodge Ram truck went through a barrier and into the water at the Alamitos Bay Marina at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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The Watkins were in town from West Covina to look into renting a boat slip. Larry recently had foot surgery and was wearing a medical boot on his right foot.
The trip went awry when his boot got caught on the accelerator while they were driving down a road off North Marina Drive toward the Alamitos Bay Fuel Dock, Mary Watkins said.
The truck wasn’t going very fast as it hit the water next to Seacoast-Heritage Yacht Sales, said Mary.
“I don’t want to sound philosophical, but you know what’s going to happen while it’s happening,” she said. “I didn’t want to make any muss or fuss about it.”
The truck with its camper shell floated on the water for a bit before starting to sink. A Long Beach Fire Department rescue boat and vessel assist boat responded to the scene and people jumped into the water to help the Watkins through the window of the truck.
“I said, ‘Boys I’m 87-years-old, be very careful,'” Watkins said. “And they were, my hair’s still dry and they didn’t even mess up my lipstick.”
The truck is now nearly fully submerged in the marina and LBFD will bring out equipment to get it out of the water, Brian Fisk, a spokesman for department said. It’s not uncommon for cars to go into the water, but it usually happens around the boat ramp when people fail to use their parking brake, he said.