Vintage ‘39 Packard takes plunge

In what had to be the longest 15 seconds of his life, the proud owner of a gorgeous classic 1939 maroon Packard watched his vintage car slowly roll down the boat launch ramp at Eastport Park Tuesday morning and into the lake and ploddingly become fully submerged.

He was staging the car for some early-morning photos with the lake as a backdrop when the beautiful intentions turned into a nightmare. As he backed up to take the photos, the car started rolling into the lake.

For an unknown reason, he temporarily left the scene after the car entered the lake. While the car owner was away, the Canyon Lake Fire Department first became aware of the sunken car after receiving a call from Canyon Lake POA Operations asking for assistance.

“We received a phone call from POA Operations at about 7:55 a.m. stating they were looking at their security cameras and they noticed an oil sheen at the launch ramp at Eastport,” Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse said. “They reviewed footage from their camera system and saw a vehicle go into the water at approximately 6:28 a.m.”

He said his department immediately responded with Battalion 1 and Engine 1 and requested a “water rescue team” from Riverside County/CAL Fire and a “dive team” from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. They were obviously concerned that somebody could be inside the car.

“We arrived on scene at 8:02 a.m. and found an oil slick and air bubbles on the surface of the water,” Jeff said.  “As we were waiting for the mutual aid response from CAL Fire and the Sheriff, the owner of the vehicle returned at 8:23 a.m. and stated there was no one in the vehicle, that it rolled in while he was attempting to take photos of it. We canceled CAL Fire, but kept the Dive Team as they were needed to assist in the removal of the vehicle from the lake.”

The Canyon Lake POA was responsible for the cleanup of the oil and representatives from both the EVMWD and Riverside County Environmental Health were on the scene to advise and supervise. The vehicle was removed from the lake at 9:51 a.m.

The name of the car owner was not known by the Canyon Lake Car Club or by the Fire Department at the press deadline of The Friday Flyer.