A car carrying two Beverly residents in their 80s rolled into Chebacco Lake at the Hamilton boat launch Friday morning, and a passerby pulled both of them from the water before police or paramedics could reach the scene. Hamilton police received the report of the vehicle entering the water at approximately 10:08 a.m., and the car kept drifting further into the lake even as emergency crews arrived to evaluate the pair on scene.
According to WHDH, the precise dispatch time and the fact that the vehicle continued sliding into deeper water even after both occupants had been pulled out underscore how quickly the situation could have turned worse. Boston 25 News reports that police responded to the Chebacco Lake boat launch shortly after 10 a.m. following the report of a vehicle in the water, and that a good samaritan had already pulled both adults out by the time officers got there. Authorities are now making arrangements to remove the submerged vehicle from the lake, and police are investigating what led the car into the water.
A Boat Ramp That Leads Straight Into Open Water
The incident happened at the Chebacco Lake boat launch in Hamilton.
Public safety and boating enforcement on the lake are jointly handled by the Hamilton Police Department and the Massachusetts Environmental Police, the town's disclosures show. It is not the first time local emergency crews have pulled something out of Chebacco Lake's water: the Hamilton Fire Department conducted a water and ice rescue there in March 2019, saving a dog that had fallen through thin ice, according to WBZ NewsRadio.
What Caused the Car to Enter the Water Remains Unclear
Police have not said what caused the vehicle to leave the ramp and enter the lake, and that question remains part of the ongoing investigation.
Safety guidance published by Kids and Car Safety notes that occupants of a submerged vehicle typically have only about 60 seconds to escape, and recommends what it calls the SWOC sequence: seat belts off, windows open, out immediately, and children first. Vehicle submersions are not rare nationally — public safety data compiled by Lifesaving Resources shows between 1,200 and 1,500 such incidents occur in the United States each year, resulting in 400 to 600 deaths.
Senior Driver Rules Add Context, Not Answers
Because both occupants were in their 80s, the incident arrives alongside broader conversations about older drivers in Massachusetts, though nothing in the available reporting indicates a medical or mechanical cause for Friday's crash. State law requires drivers 75 and older to renew their license in person every five years and pass a vision screening, according to Mass.gov and Registry of Motor Vehicles guidelines. Research summarized by Gilman Law also notes that drivers 70 and older face higher crash fatality rates per mile driven than middle-aged motorists, largely due to increased physical vulnerability in collisions.
For now, the two Beverly residents were treated at the scene, and authorities are working out how to retrieve their vehicle from the lake. Police continue to investigate exactly how the car ended up in the water at the Chebacco Lake boat launch Friday.
