Man following GPS drives car into harbor

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WHITTIER, Alaska, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Officials in an Alaskan town said a man unfamiliar with the area drove his car into a harbor on the advice of his GPS unit and survived along with his two dogs.

Dave Schofield, director of the Whittier Department of Public Safety, said the man, moving to Alaska from another state, took a right turn into the town's small boat harbor about 400 feet after driving off a ferry, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Friday.

"The GPS apparently misrouted him and he drove down the ramp for launching boats into the water," Schofield said. "He was unfamiliar with the area is the only answer I have for you."

A witness jumped into the water and smashed one of the car's windows, allowing the man and his two dogs to escape, but a cat in a pet carrier did not survive.

Schofield said a towing company pulled the car from the water.

"It was a first for us," Schofield said.