Woman Appears To Take Selfies On Top Of Sinking Car, Residents Rush To Help

A woman appeared to be snapping selfies while standing on top of a car that was sinking into ice-cold water in Canada. Residents immediately sent a kayak over the ice to rescue her.

The woman was driving on the frozen Rideau River in Ottawa at around 4.30 p.m. Sunday when her vehicle broke through a thin layer of ice and plunged into the water, reported New York Post.

However, the driver, who was wearing a red coat at that time, seemed nonchalant and appeared to take selfies while standing on top of the sinking car.

Videos of the incident quickly circulated online. One of them showed two locals carrying a kayak toward the woman who remained on top of the vehicle.

"She's on top of the car, she's going in," a person could be heard saying in a clip posted on Twitter.

Residents used the kayak to safely transport the woman from the water-filled hole to the shore.

"It's like everything worked out perfectly. Got her on the kayak, pulled her in. And as soon as we pulled her in, the car went under. Fully," Zachary King, who helped rescue the woman, told CTV News Ottawa.

The woman had already been pulled to safety when police and paramedics arrived at the scene. She did not sustain any injury and turned down treatment from paramedics. Authorities charged her with one count of dangerous operations of a motor vehicle.

"The vehicle is still in the river and could pose as a hazard for curious onlookers venturing out on the ice," Ottawa police noted in a statement.

Sacha Gera, whose kids were playing outside, reportedly saw the car speeding on the frozen river.

"You don't expect your kids to have to watch out for cars zipping down on the frozen river," Gera told CTV News Ottawa. "Essentially, the kids were just playing out on the backyard hockey rink. And while they were skating they saw this yellow Subaru kind of zipping down the river and they were caught off by surprise."

Police said the ice at this time of the year can be unpredictable, adding that the area where the woman drove had thinner ice cover compared to other parts of the river.