A driver, allegedly under the influence, crashed her Jeep into the pool at Smuggler’s Notch Resort in Cambridge, Vermont. (WPTZ).
In a dramatic and unsettling incident, a New Jersey woman, said to be driving while intoxicated, drove a Jeep through a fence and directly into a pool at a Vermont resort. The alarming crash prompted swimmers, including children, to urgently escape from the water’s path.
The unnerving event unfolded around 3:30 p.m. Monday at Smuggler’s Notch Resort in Cambridge, according to the Vermont State Police. The woman behind the wheel, whose identity is currently withheld due to “the age of the individuals involved,” faces charges including driving under the influence, reckless or gross negligence, and two counts of reckless endangerment, as reported by local NBC affiliate WPTZ.
Police reports indicate that the woman plowed into the fence encircling the pool area before the vehicle made its way into the water, further heightening the chaos of the scene.
The pool was packed with swimmers. Two people suffered minor injuries, troopers said. One of them was 9-year-old Joseph Sage.
“I just heard a bang and a car went there,” Joseph said in an interview with WPTZ. “It hit my head and pulled me under.”
Photos obtained by the TV station showed the Jeep submerged in the pool. A towing company used a crane to lift the Jeep out of the water.
The woman reportedly failed several sobriety tests at the scene of the crash and was arrested. She pleaded not guilty to all the charges during a court hearing on Wednesday. She faces two years in prison for each of the DUI and negligent conduct charges, plus a year for the reckless driving charge, per WPTZ.
A judge barred her from driving and drinking alcohol. Her next court date was not listed.
Smuggler’s Notch, 30 miles northeast of Burlington, is known for its ski resort, but has several water activities for the summer.