Yesterday morning, the police received a tip about a woman wandering the Nauthólsvík geothermal beach in Reykjavík. A few hours later, the police were notified of a vehicle that had gone into the waters in the Skerjafjörður neighbourhood of Reykjavík. It was only after divers examined the vehicle – taking note of signs indicating that the driver had escaped from the car – that they connected the dots. The woman, despite being “extremely cold,” is believed to have suffered only minor injuries.
Disoriented and extremely cold
Yesterday morning, just after 7 AM, the capital area police received a report about a woman wandering along the Nauthólsvík geothermal beach in Reykjavík. The police struggled to communicate with the woman, as she appeared disoriented and extremely cold. A decision was eventually made to take her to the hospital.
A few hours later, at around 11 AM, the police received another report about a car that had been driven into the sea near Skerjafjörður, Reykjavík (approximately a twenty-minute walk from Nauthólsvík). Divers from the fire department conducted a search in the waters, but no one was found. Upon further inspection of the vehicle, the divers concluded that the driver had likely exited the vehicle.
It was only after discovering the submerged vehicle, and the indications of the driver’s escape, that the police connected the dots; the woman wandering Nauthólsvík, they concluded, had driven the car – a rental belonging to Avis, which was likely totalled – into the sea in Skerjafjörður.
Deputy Superintendent Ásmundur Rúnar Gylfason told reporters that things had gone “as well as possible,” given the circumstances. “The case will take its normal course. The driver’s condition will be investigated, a blood sample will be taken for analysis, and so on and so forth.” It is worth noting that the car entered the sea on a pedestrian-cum-bike path, not a road. The woman is believed to have suffered only minor injuries.
