Monday Update: Accident Leaves Car Submerged in Canal

COLD SPRING — A late night car accident left a 1989 Ford Mustang on the bottom of the Cape May Canal.
The Wed. July 11 accident occurred at 11 p.m. near the Seashore Road Bridge.
The driver was identified as Benjamin Young, 19, of North Cape May. He was able to escape from the vehicle and was not injured. The car appears to have traveled down an embankment into the canal.
Young was charged with careless driving, according to Lower Township Police Lt. Martin Biersbach.
Officers from Lower Township police and state police divers from the TEAMS (Technical Emergency and Mission Specialists) responded to the scene. Also on site were U.S. Coast Guard members. Jack Moran, owner of Sea Tow of Cape May, was able to secure flotation bags to the vehicle in order to bring it to the surface.
A fuel spill necessitated the use of a boom which was placed west of the Seashore Road Bridge. The Philadelphia-based USCG water pollution control unit was called to the scene.
The car was towed through the water to a local marina for removal via a ramp.
Responding to the scene were Lower Township police, State Police and U.S. Coast Guard.
According to a police report, the Mustang was parked on the edge of a hill on a dirt road on a “decline.” When the driver attempted to shift into reverse and back up the hill, the vehicle did not move.
When the driver attempted to shift into park or possibly neutral, the vehicle started to roll forward over the Cape May Canal bulkhead into the canal, according to police.