Originally published on NewCanaanite.com on June 16, written by Mike Dinan
A Tesla entered the Steve Benko Pool on June 16, 2026. Photo published with permission from its owner
Update June 16, 5:15 p.m.
The man who drove a Tesla into the Steve Benko Pool at Waveny on Tuesday morning told officials that he’d been trying to park car at the time, according to police.
However, the vehicle “ accelerated through the pool perimeter fence and into the pool’ shortly after 10:30 a.m., according to a press release issued by the New Canaan Police Department.
“The pool was closed at the time, there was no one in the pool and there were no injuries as a result of this incident,” it said. “Multiple lifeguards and first arriving officers entered the pool to assist the male driver out of the vehicle. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle. The operator reported that he was not injured as a result of the accident but was transported to the hospital by New Canaan EMS for evaluation.”
The incident remains under investigation, NCPD said.
According to a press release issued by New Canaan Fire Department Interim Chief William Perritt, “there were lifeguards and town pool staff on scene” who acted quickly.
“A New Canaan lifeguard immediately sprang into action, diving into the pool and making contact with the driver,” Perritt said in the release. “New Canaan Police units arrived on scene and multiple officers also entered the water. Working as a team, the New Canaan lifeguard and police officers broke a window, opened the door, removing the driver on a backboard.”
The Stamford Fire Department’s Rescue 1 and dive team responded to the scene to work alongside New Canaan emergency responders.
NCFD command staff “met and devised a vehicle removal plan utilizing a rotator tow truck,” Perritt said in the release.
He continued: “Command consulted with HazMat guides and ensured that there were no additional hazards due to an electric vehicle in the water. New Canaan and Stamford F.D. members then entered the water in water rescue suits attaching slings to the vehicle to allow for it to be removed from the pool. Stamford F.D. Rescue Divers were on standby during the removal as a Rapid Intervention Team. The vehicle was removed by a tow company and placed on a flatbed tow truck. While the vehicle was removed and being placed on the flat bed tow truck, New Canaan F.D. Engine 7 stood by with a hose line in the event the battery was damaged and a thermal runaway of the battery ensued causing a vehicle fire. The vehicle was removed from the property without further incident.”
Perritt called the incident “unusual and challenging” and commended the “numerous agencies” that collaborated for safe extractions.
“From the lifeguard who immediately jumped into action, to the police officers who entered the water, firefighters who assessed the driver while stabilizing the scene, to EMS who treated and transported the driver, all first responders operated professionally and safely,” he said. “A special thanks to the skillful work of the tow truck operators who integrated into the operation seamlessly. We are grateful that there were no serious injuries today. This is a reminder of the complex and dynamic events that first responders may encounter each day.”
Original Article
A car broke through a fence and into the Steve Benko Pool in Waveny midmorning Tuesday, officials said.
No one was hurt and no one was in the town-owned pool at the time, officials on scene confirmed about two hours after the incident.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was driving the car or what caused the crash. Officials directing traffic around the pool parking lot had no information and the New Canaan Police Department’s public information officer was not immediately available.
A break in the fence that encloses the popular pool could be seen along its southern edge—facing the paddle tennis parking lot—as the Tesla, already removed from the water, dripped from the back of a tow truck along the Lapham Center access road.
Public Works Director Tiger Mann said the town will drain the pool and then refill it, so the facility will be offline for a few days.
Sirens could be heard at about 10:30 a.m. from nearby Dunning Stadium as the New Canaan High School class of 2026 graduation ceremony got underway on a sunny, breezy day.