The 41-year-old Ohio driver of this 2014 Kia Optima was “unscathed” in this crash, a detour from the road into a pond, as local reports. What is omitted from the brief is the unexpected and captivating beauty of the scene itself.

This story was originally published on December 3, 2020

Look at the Optima’s taillights gleaming just below the surface like a lost love. The Optima is gone but still with us, visible but unreachable. It is a reflection under the actual reflection of the near-frozen surface, disturbed only by ripples and chunks of ice. Those ripples are absolutely circular, signs of perfection in nature in contrast to the imperfection of humankind. Each concentric ring seems equally chiding and reassuring. They taunt the Optima, a little victory dance. They sooth the Optima, a restful lullaby.

Low light makes the entire scene dreamy, the electronic sign boasting Black Friday deals makes it somewhat comic. Maybe the entire photograph, shared by the Montville Township Police Department, operates on some degree of commentary. Consumerism is rushing us all into a pond off the side of Poe Road as it approaches Wooster Pike. I like to think of it as demonstrating the promise of beauty in and of itself. There is a transformative power in the way that the photo comes to us, gloomy and blue, that makes it more than a minor news item about a guy wrecking his car without getting injured.

The car went off the road as the driver lost control while slowing down for a stop sign, as 19 News reports. The driver made it out of the car before it was completely submerged, according to the police.

19 News shared no comment from the driver, but did include a lengthy comment from the police department, which urged caution during times when temperatures are “too cold for salt to be effective,” which is too cold for this Californian to fully comprehend.