NAPLES, Fla. – A Home Depot van was pulled out of the Naples Landings boat ramp Saturday night after a driver lost control of the vehicle while unloading his jet ski, said Naples police in a statement to NBC2.
“It’s probably somebody with not a lot of experience, who got too far in,” said Gene Luciano, a charter boat fishing captain that houses his fleet just steps away at the Naples City Dock. “It happens, not a lot, but it does happen.”
Naples police observed heavy, slick algae buildup on the ramp that could have caused the car to slip closer to the water.
“What happens at the ramp at low tide, the slime line is showing,” said Luciano. “If those back wheels of a truck get on that slime line with the trailer and the boat, and he doesn’t have four-wheel-drive when you put it in gear, he doesn’t have a traction to get out of the way in the truck starts to sideswipe. Next thing you know it goes right on the water.”
He added he has seen multiple other vehicles go into the water for the same reason.
A police report provided to NBC2 shows that there were no injuries at the time of the incident.
A private tow company was called and after multiple tow trucks were on scene, the vehicle was pulled from the water.
The report deemed the car as a “total loss.”
