UK teen drives car into lake right after passing driver's test

A young woman who got her driver's licence just a few weeks ago managed to drive her car straight into a lake.

Leia Darnell, 18, was driving back to her house in Oxford when the incident took place in January 2022. Her boyfriend had also been with her her.

Darnell lost control at a sharp bend and drove the car into a lake. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident except the car which has now been written off. The woman managed to save their lives by kicking the car door open before they lost total control of the vehicle.

The incident came to light after she posted a video of the accident on TikTok along with her exam certificate. She claimed she did it so that others could learn from her mistake.

The video shows her car submerged in lake waters and her boyfriend re-entering the vehicle to retrieve their things. Her Volkswagen Polo was later pulled out of the water by a crane.

"The experience has really taught me to value everything in life as it has made me realise just how easily you can lose everything. We launched over the river bank, all I remembered seeing at this point was trees in front of us," Darnell said.

"We then landed in water. I was so shocked and scared I didn't even realise until my boyfriend shouted that the car was in water. The car started rapidly filling up, at this point both our doors weren't opening," she added.

"Somehow I managed to kick my door open and we escaped as the water was up to our necks, we swam out the car, leaving all personal belongings behind and climbed up the riverbank to get help."

The video had received more than two million views on TikTok but has been taken down for unexplained reasons. It is, however, available on Instagram.