How This Car Wound Up in Lake Minnetonka

A vehcile went through the ice on Carsons Bay near Big Island just before 6 p.m. Saturday evening, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
A deputy located the two parties and transported them by air boat to the Carson Bay boat launch. The passenger vehicle was submerged up to its roof.
Two adult males were treated at the scene by paramedics and did not sustain any notable injuries. 
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Water Patrol says the vehicle hit an ice ridge causing it to break through the ice. Earlier in the day, the Water Patrol had posted thin ice signs in the area where the vehicle broke through.

It has been a hazardous season on Lake Minnetonka. About a dozen vehicles have gone through the ice this winter, most since the beginning of the year. An accident Jan. 18 under the Halstead Bay Bridge in Minnetrista led to the death of an infant, and seven cars went through the ice between Jan. 18 and Jan. 23.

Temperatures that have hovered around freezing the last few days again have area safety officials urging Lake Minnetonka recreationalists to adhere the following safety guidelines:

• Despite the recent cold weather, channels of Lake Minnetonka remain dangerous and should be avoided. A vehicle, such as a car, truck or SUVshould never be driven through a channel. The weak ice in a channel is due to water constantly running from one bay to another bay. The friction of the running water causes the ice to weaken.  

• Channels should be also be avoided by people on foot, snowmobiles, and ATVs. A snowmobile or ATV also have a high likelihood of going through the ice on a channel.

• Pressure ridges should be avoided at all times due to a false impression that the ice is stable. All vehicles including cars, trucks, SUVs, snowmobiles and ATVs should avoid pressure ridges. People on foot should avoid pressure ridges. (Pressure ridges are compression ruptures that typically form as long cracks on ice sheets. Plates held under water can erode significantly or even melt away completely cause unstable ice.)  

• Anyone using the ice—including people on foot, snowmobiles and ATVs—should use safety precautions such as wearing life jackets. Sheriff’s deputies wear life jackets when they are on the ice.

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