Car rolls into Schuylkill River after couple accidentally shifted it into drive, police say

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A couple was inside a parked car along Kelly Drive when they accidentally shifted it in drive — sending the vehicle right into the Schuylkill River , according to police.

It happened around 4 a.m. Wednesday on Kelly Drive, just past the Columbia Rail Bridge and the rowing grandstand. The Range Rover was parked in a nearby lot.

The couple was “gettin’ busy,” according to a police statement, when they accidentally put the car in drive. They got out of the vehicle before it hit the water.

Police say the pair refused treatment when medics arrived, and they are OK.

Beams from the car’s headlights and taillights were still visible under the water before the sun came up.

A police dive team towed the car from the water around 8:30 a.m.

“It was about 50 feet from the shoreline,” said Lt. Andrew Napoli. “Roughly, it floated and it sank. It was probably about 9 feet deep. Surprisingly when we got here, we were able to see — still under the surface — the hood of the vehicle.”

Police responded to a similar scene not even two weeks ago. A car backed into the river off Kelly Drive , close to the Girard Avenue Bridge. That driver has not been located.

Prior to these two incidents, Napoli said it's been years since the Police Marine Unit has had to pull a car out of the Schuylkill off Kelly Drive.