Flaming car careens into river in Kentucky — and the driver is saved by passing barge

A flaming car came speeding onto a boat ramp and plunged into the Ohio River the morning of Monday, June 6, Kentucky officials told news outlets.

It would have still been dark out when the burning vehicle careened into the water around 5 a.m., but witnesses could see a man escape the wreck after impact, police told the Louisville Courier Journal.

Witnesses said he didn’t make it back to shore, police told TV station WHAS. Search and rescue crews swarmed the scene, combing the river by boat and by air.

The driver had floated several miles downstream when he was spotted by a passing barge, and the crew plucked him from the river at some point prior to 7 a.m., WDRB reported.

The man had burns from the car fire but was awake and alert when first responders arrived and transported him to a hospital, the station reported.

It’s not clear what caused the man’s car to catch fire or why he drove it into the river, but police are investigating, outlets reported.

This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Flaming car careens into river in Kentucky — and the driver is saved by passing barge."