Ontario truck driver plunges into empty pool causing over $100K in property damage

An adventurous pickup truck driver in the Niagara Region got to beat the summer heat in a holding cell after being arrested for a less-successful attempt to cool off by allegedly driving directly into an empty swimming pool.

The Niagara Regional Police Service reports that on Wednesday, July 27, at 5:41 a.m., officers assigned to 2 District were called to the scene of a residential address on Concession 7 Road in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake in response to reports that a pickup truck had driven into an outdoor pool.

Police state that "officers determined the driver/owner of the 2011 GMC Sierra pickup truck fled the scene prior to police arrival," but later arrested a man identified as Grant Barlow, age 36, of Niagara-on-the-Lake on Aug. 2.

Photos provided by Niagara Regional Police Service show substantial damage to both the pool — which appears to have been mid-construction at the time of the incident — and the vehicle, with its deployed airbags plainly visible in the truck cab.

The crash caused an estimated property damage value of approximately $115,000, with damage to the truck valued at $15K and damage to the swimming pool at around $100K.

Barlow is charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and public mischief under the Criminal Code, and fail to remain under the Highway Traffic Act, and appeared in court for a bail hearing via video link on Tuesday.

Police are seeking anyone with information to contact the lead investigator, or reach out anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Niagara.

The vehicular pool incursion comes amid a recent rash of large vehicles doing their best impressions of the famous Kool-Aid man "oh yea!" entrance, including a truck slamming into the wall of a restaurant in late July, and a similar incident involving a Tesla just a few months earlier.