A family of five had a lucky escape after their car was swept away on a flooded causeway at Berry Springs.

Police received a report just before 10pm last night from a resident at Berry Springs that a car had been washed into the river on Old Bynoe Road. Police said it appears a 41-year-old male driver failed to notice the depth of the water over a causeway and his sedan was swept away into the Darwin River. The occupants of the car included the driver, his 32-year-old wife and two sons aged 10 and 11 as well as the couple's eight-month-old daughter. The man's wife, holding her baby daughter, swam to a tree near the river bank with one of her two sons.

The other son and his father were stranded on the roof of the car until rescuers threw them a rope and brought them to shore.

The mother and her children were taken to Royal Darwin Hospital. The driver was found to have a blood alcohol level of .114 per cent. He will be summonsed at a later date.

Superintendent Michael Murphy said: "This family is lucky to be alive. The outcome could have been an absolute tragedy. There was an unacceptable risk taken; the driver has placed himself and his entire family at risk, three children who rely upon him as a protector, through impaired decision making. The message is clear - don't drink and drive.'

"Police would also like to commend those people at the scene who rendered assistance to the family during the rescue."


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Theresa Kuilboer
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