Man Dies After Driving Car Off Dock at Port
PORT HUENEME — A longshoreman unloading a shipment of cars Saturday from the Port of Hueneme accidentally drove off the dock and plunged 45 feet underwater and later died.
It took divers 90 minutes to get to the dock and rescue the man, who was then rushed to St. John’s Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Ventura County Fire Department officials said a call came in about 11:26 a.m. reporting that an elderly man had driven off the pier while offloading a Mitsubishi from a car carrier. But it took time for divers to respond to the accident, authorities said.
“We don’t have divers waiting to respond to something like this,” said Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Chris Graham. “So there was just no one around. It took awhile before we were able to get divers down to him.”
It’s unclear how the accident occurred, but an autopsy is expected this week to see if the man had a heart attack while unloading the car.
Divers pulled the man from the car and brought him to the surface just before 1 p.m. Authorities are labeling the incident an industrial accident.
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