Driver of car pulled from Cary pond cited for leaving scene of accident

A car was removed from a pond in Cary late Monday, and the driver has since been located unharmed and cited for multiple traffic violations, officials say.

The Cary Fire Protection District found the car submerged in the pond after responding to the area of Detroit Street and Crystal Woods Circle at 7:40 p.m. The vehicle apparently left the road and rolled down an embankment.

It wasn’t then known if the car was occupied. Rescue divers found no one inside when they checked the front and rear seats and trunk, Cary Fire Protection District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said in a news release.

No driver or occupants were located at the scene in or out of the water, nor at the address of the registered owner when authorities checked there, Vucha said.

Cary police officers were later able to make contact with the driver, “and he is unharmed,” Deputy Chief Scott Naydenoff said in an email to the Northwest Herald.

The vehicle owner, 40-year-old Ivan Bonar of Cary, was later cited for leaving the scene of a crash, failing to report a crash to police, improper lane use and failing to reduce speed to avoid a crash, according to police.

Naydenoff said Bonar drove off the road, striking a curb, then a fence and a retaining wall and ultimately crashing into the pond.

At that time, about 9 p.m. Monday, the situation was upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System to request sonar equipment and additional personnel.

“The use of sonar technology and drone resources was done out of an abundance of caution and as part of due diligence to ensure no one was submerged in the pond,” the release said.

About 11 p.m., the crews removed the vehicle from the water, and the investigation was turned over to Cary police.