By Justin Hughes March 17, 2026 2:30 pm EST
River John Fire Department - Nova Scotia / Facebook
Several layers of government agencies got involved to get the car off the ice. The federal Fisheries and Oceans Department came out to test the ice depth, ensuring that rescuers could get to the car safely. Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources brought in a helicopter to fly rescuers out to the car in case there was no safe path back to shore. The local fire department from River John helped out as well.
Since the Hyundai was already a junk car with no registration or insurance, the initial plan was to dismantle it into smaller pieces and fly them out with the helicopter. After removing a few parts, authorities realized this plan wouldn't work. Having found a safe route across the ice, they decided to use a pair of snowmobiles to drag the car back to shore. Rather than pull it on its wheels, they flipped it onto its roof to slide across the ice more easily. This plan worked, and the now even more wrecked Hyundai was hauled away on a flatbed.
There's always a way to tow a car from an impossible place, but the cost of government resources in this case must have been immense, with local, provincial, and federal officials involved. Driving to Prince Edward Island sounds like fun, but that's what the Confederation Bridge is for.