A man in Florida veered off the road into a fire hydrant — and then drowned

A simple one-car accident turned deadly in Viera, Florida, on Wednesday, according to local media reports.

Robert Dreyer, who turned 89 on the day of the accident, was driving down a local road when, for reasons currently unknown, he ran into a fire hydrant, per WPXI. It wasn’t a particularly violent collision, according to witnesses WPXI spoke with, and Dreyer appeared to be OK as he got out of his car following the crash.

But as he stepped out, a five-foot hole opened up beneath Dreyer, police told WESH. The hole was likely created by the destruction of the hydrant and the resulting water pressure, which was so strong it sprayed half a block, per Florida Today.

Dreyer fell into the hole and was then sucked underneath his own car. Witnesses attempted to rescue him, but the gushing water complicated their efforts. According to WFTV, Dreyer was underneath his car for three to four minutes before bystanders were able to pull him out of the hole, just as emergency officials arrived.

“It was pushing me out of the hole, and I weigh 220 pounds,” one witness said, per WFTV.

“I haven’t seen anything like this before,” a police spokesperson told the station. “Usually the fire hydrants will break off and they won’t spew water; they have safety valves in place. But if you hit something the right way, the safety doesn’t work.”

Dreyer was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. According to Florida Today, he may also have had a medical condition just moments before or after the hydrant crash, authorities said.

Video from Florida Today shows Dreyer’s car, its front bumper and grille damaged but not totaled, while the hydrant remains intact.

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "A man in Florida veered off the road into a fire hydrant — and then drowned."