CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A man who lost control of his vehicle and landed in a pond while attempting to light a cigarette has been charged with reckless driving.
Police estimate that the driver lost control, flipped his car over and landed in the pond on the 3800 block of Curtis Street in Chester between 1 and 4 a.m. Sunday morning. Officers were not contacted until 10:45 a.m., when someone driving by happened to notice the car and called police.
Officers responded along with the Chesterfield Fire and EMS and the dive team to retrieve the vehicle from the pond. Police ran the license plate on the car and were able to track down the registered owner about an hour and a half later. When officers arrived at the house, they found a wet pair of shoes on the front porch.
The man admitted that he was the driver of the car and said that he was on his way back from a party and lost control of the car while trying to light a cigarette.
He has been charged with reckless driving and driving without insurance in the accident along with some additional minor traffic charges. Police were not able to determine whether or not he was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
