Officials on Maine’s Mt Desert Island say it could be a while before they can get the U-Haul that broke through the ice and sank in Echo Lake early Saturday out of the water as they need the ice to thicken again before a marine salvage company can pull it out, the Portland Press-Herald reports.
Cops say a 75 year-old man became confused and missed a turn, driving ones of the ubiquitous rental box trucks out onto the frozen lake at some point late Friday or early Saturday. He made it pretty far: About 450 yards before the roughly five inches of ice gave way and the front of the truck became submerged. The driver was able to climb to the top of the vehicle and dial 911, with first responders completing the rescue at 4:45 AM. The man was hospitalized briefly and released.
The truck later sank into the depths of the icy lake. No details on what was in it, if anything, were made public. It’s also unclear why the marine salvage operation will try to effect a recovery when the ice is sturdy enough rather than simply wait until April to winch the truck out from its watery grave.