Once again, a motorist drives down a boat ramp into West Hawai‘i harbor

How people keep driving down a boat ramp into the waters at Honokōhau Small Boat Harbor is a mystery.

On Saturday at 8 p.m., a 33-year-old woman parked her car on the boat ramp facing the water when she told authorities her car wasn’t working and then drove directly into the harbor.

This incident comes nearly a year and a half after two visitors drove into the harbor while following GPS to get to a tour operator for a nighttime manta ray dive.

Authorities with the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement along with the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation were notified of the vehicle in the water off the mauka boat ramps over the weekend. Officials reported that the woman was the sole occupant of the vehicle and did not suffer any injuries, however, she requested to be transported to Kona Community Hospital.

It is unclear why the woman stopped at the ramp. Witnesses believed the driver to be a Big Island resident.

Hawai‘i Island police and fire personnel responded to the scene and attempted to move the car out of the water. Due to weather conditions, including runoff debris from rain, a towing company was unable to visually locate and retrieve the vehicle.

By Sunday morning, the vehicle had been removed by an unknown person.

Last year, the first incident of a visitor driving into the harbor occurred on April 29, 2023. A video circulated on social media showing a woman behind the wheel of an SUV all smiles despite the vehicle being partially submerged in water.

After the woman and her passenger were rescued from the sinking car, Hutchinson said she learned the pair were looking for a manta ray dive tour and the GPS they were following led them straight to the water.

On May 29, photos surfaced of a blue 2020 Ford Edge that went for a swim at about 7:45 p.m.

Harbor worker Justin Pasamonte was washing a boat when he saw the driver take the same route as another tourist did on April 29 when she was following directions to a manta ray dive tour. That woman had to be rescued as water began to fill her car.