Two passengers escaped unharmed from a submerged vehicle last weekend.

James Meek, deputy chief of Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue, said the vehicle crashed into a man-made pond on the afternoon of Dec. 20. It overshot a sharp right turn on Highway 20, where the highway intersects with Keystone Avenue.

“I’m not sure if they thought they were supposed to be going straight and then realized they needed to go to the right and correct,” Meek said of the passengers. “But basically, from witness accounts, they just shot straight into the pond.”

Meek heard the pond could be up to 60 feet deep. Bystanders already helped the passengers escape, swim to shore and begin to warm up upon Meek’s arrival. As soon as the passengers got out, the vehicle sunk to a depth at which it disappeared from sight.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife sent two divers to the scene the next day to recover the vehicle, Meek explained, hooking it up to a rig and towing it out with cables. He said he believes the vehicle sustained “front-end damage” after initially crashing and, because it spent more than a day in “brackish” water, can be “written off as a total loss.”

“It was a very simple call, we just needed to get (the passengers) warm,” he added. “They were warmed and they had some friends come pick them up. It was the best outcome that we could’ve had.”

This is not the first crash at the intersection of Highway 20 and Keystone Avenue and may not be the last.

Many incidents have occurred there, though so far, not typically ones involving fatalities. Meek recalled an incident about a decade ago wherein a motorcycle accident may have turned fatal after the fact, but crashes there typically just leave victims wet and muddy.

Regardless, Meek would like to see more signage installed to alert drivers of the sharp turn ahead.

“It’s not gonna eliminate all, but it could eliminate having a really horrific accident there at some point. But no, the signage certainly could be better and I could say that for several areas on the island,” he said.

Mel Nasby, a Central Whidbey resident whose house overlooks the location of the crash, shares Meek’s sentiment. About four years ago, she noticed commotion around the pond from her window, and learned two teenage girls had crashed in a similar way.

“It was summertime, thank goodness, and they were driving and had just opened their sunroof and they went around the corner too fast and went straight into the pond,” she recalled.

Cars frequently crash into the wetlands on the other side of the highway as well, according to Nasby. She thinks a flashing sign or a guard rail could help prevent future accidents, especially considering the speed limit decreases from 50 to 25 mph before the turn.

“We have seen so many cars go into the wetlands turned upside down — it’s horrible,” she said. “If you’re not aware of that corner it’s sketchy, it really is. And you don’t have anywhere to go but into the water or into the wetlands.”

Photo by Mel Nasby. Many accidents have occurred at this location, though not many have been fatal.

Photo by Mel Nasby. A vehicle crashed into a pond at the intersection of Highway 20 and Keystone Avenue on Dec. 20.

Photo by Mel Nasby. James Meek, deputy chief at Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue, said the vehicle can likely be “written off as a total loss.”