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TIFU by turning my car into a submarine.

This happened a month ago. I was working on a film set, and the location was in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Driving to set, the winding roads were tiny, and there were no street lights or signs. There was no way to know what the speed limit was, but on a few occasions, there was another driver they went zooming by. I get to the shoot with no trouble, and we wrapped for the day a bit before 11.

Now all day, it was a no-service area phone-wise, but thankfully my GPS was working. I got the high beams on, taking it slow, top speed of 30mph. I'm going along being extra cautious when after 20 mins or so, I come to this sharp bend in the road. I take it and go downhill a bit, and suddenly I'm in the water.

I'd come to find out later there was a creek next to the road, and it tends to flood this time of year. I go forward a couple of feet, more so in surprise than the thought of I can make it through this with my little sedan when my car cuts off. I try to get it to turn back on, but it's a no-go.

Ok, I should call 911, I think. No service. Not great.

I didn't want my car to sit in the water and flood even more, so I got to push it. Now it's cold outside, probably less than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 degrees Celsius). When I open the door, cold water comes pouring in. So I hop out into the ice-cold water.

Now when I do this, two shocking things happen. The first is the cold shock, and the second is even though I didn't think I needed to pee the moment I was in the water, my body decided to open the flood gates.

So there I am, pissing myself in knee-deep water and putting my car in neutral. Now I have to hold it, so it doesn't go sliding down this slight incline it's on, and I push the car free of the water and put it in park.

Now thankfully, I had a change of clothes from the set, so I stripped in the middle of this lonely stretch of road and changed. Honestly, with how cold it was, if I didn't have the spare clothes, I'm not sure what would have happened to me.

So now I have to walk along the road until I get service to call for help. I finally get through, and the person on the other end could seemingly give a shit less about my predicament. I give them a rough estimate of where I am, and they tell me it will be a while, but they will send a tow truck.

So I get back in the car and wait. After about an hour or so, I see a big vehicle behind me. I get out of my car and get a good few feet away and wait. Didn't end up helping as the truck pushed the water up, and it soaked my second pair of shoes and my pants just above the ankles. It turns out it was not the tow truck, and after hearing that I had already called 911, the dude left. So I get back into the car even colder than before.

Now, remember, I got no service on the phone, and my car won't turn on, so there is no heat. So I'm in the car kicking my feet, trying to stay warm. It sucked pretty bad. After a few more hours, my car's emergency lights dim and flicker. Now I'm getting nervous because if they do die out, I'll be a sitting duck in the middle of the road, and I'll need to leave the car. (I did have an emergency roadside bag in my car, but at the time, it didn't occur to me.)

My car stopped working around 11:40 pm, and the tow truck didn't arrive until just before 3:00 am. He asks me where I need it towed, and I tell him, and he says it will be $300. I look at him and say, does it look like I'm in a position to negotiate and hop in his truck to warm up. He will later tell me that the road I was on was closed despite no signage or warning on the GPS to indicate that.

After about a month in the shop, I just got the word yesterday that the car is a total loss, but I have good insurance, so there is that.

I'll miss ya, Dolores. You were the worthiest of steeds.

TLDR: I got caught in a flooded road on a cold winter night for almost 4 hours.

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