A downtown intersection partially flooded when a car veered off the road and knocked over a fire hydrant Tuesday morning.
The car wound up on top of the hydrant and water gushed out of it for more than two hours before city workers were able to stop the flow.
The car’s driver, a man named Richard, told CP24 he was coming to a stop at a red light when his car began to slide and he made the "dubious choice" to veer towards the sidewalk instead of rear-ending the vehicle in front of him.
“I chose the fire hydrant instead,” said the man, who was on his way to the airport when the crash occurred, as a large pool of water formed on the road.
City crews had a difficult time turning off the water because the car was on top of the hydrant, which dates back to 1914, and they had to turn off eight valves.
The cover for one of the hydrant’s shut-off valves was blocked by the car, so a tow truck was brought in to slowly pull the car back and expose the valve’s lid. That valve was located under the sidewalk's surface.
The gushing water caused the intersection’s stop lights to malfunction.
With files from CP24 traffic and safety specialist Cam Woolley.
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