UPDATED: While Driver ‘Flees Hit-And-Run,’ Car Takes Dive Into Icy, Toxic Gowanus Canal

After fleeing a hit-and-run scene, a driver drove his car into the Gowanus Canal, according to the New York Post.

The hit-and-run incident happened five block away, when the driver ran over the foot of a 49-year-old woman while she was putting her 1-year-old child into a Toyota Camry. The incident took place at the intersection of Court and Degraw Streets.

Following that incident, the driver allegedly fled the scene, driving 5 blocks until plunging his Audi sedan into the Gowanus Canal.

FDNY officials say the car took the plunge at Degraw and Bond Streets around 11:15am.

DNAinfo reports the driver climbed out before the car was submerged. Police say the driver was able to escape unharmed, however shaken up.

Maurice Deas, who was working on set for the “The Americans,” told the New York Post “[w]hat caught my attention was the speed of the car. It was going around 70, 80 mph.”

Deas described the man’s actions, saying “[h]e was a little out of it. He kept saying he was an Iraqi war veteran. He was a little delirious. He kept saying the ice made him slip. He was trying to stop.”

Both mother and child have been taken to Methodist Hospital, according to police sources.

The New York Post reports the driver was charged with both leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment.

While the idea of a car plunging into a body of water is alarming, the “Lavender Lake” is considered one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country, an environmental issue consistently highlighted in our area.

Story updated: 2:14pm on Monday, January 18