21-02-2025
Buick Frozen Tail-Up in Minnesota Lake Becomes Ice Fishing Sensation
Your car may have been stuck in snow or ice a few times in your life — but trust me, you have never been Buick Lucerne-in-frozen-White Bear Lake stuck.
According to a report by The Minnesota Star Tribune, the 2008 Buick Lucerne was being driven by a local 41-year-old man when it broke through the ice on January 27 and began to sink into White Bear Lake in the Minneapolis-St Paul suburbs, but the driver managed to escape through a window and walk to safety. A few days later, the car was spotted by Karl Erickson, a local ice fisher who teaches students as part of a non-profit Urban Ice Anglers program. He filmed a video of the frozen Buick to serve as a warning to others who drive on the Minnesota lake.
Over the last several weeks, Erickson has posted a number of additional videos on the Urban Ice Anglers Instagram account, with the car acting as a prop in various ice fishing scenarios. At one point, he even drilled a hole next to the car and dropped an underwater camera in the lake, revealing several fish taking an interest in the submerged parts of the Buick. The videos are meant to be lighthearted, but also deliver a serious safety message: lake ice is never completely safe to drive on, and you should never drive on a pressure ridge.
The owner of this Buick escaped with his life, but his wallet is going to take a hit. On top of the fact that the car is now flooded and likely a total loss, authorities gave the owner 30 days to have the car removed — which, as the images reveal, would be a tricky task in its current state. He will face fines of up to five times the cost of removal if unable to extract the car from the lake before the deadline. And in a matter of adding insult to injury, under a 2024 state law that aims to crack down on lake ice littering, he may be subject to an additional $100 fine.
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