It hits bottom 25 feet down. Four people die in the incident. Crossing the ice in a blue 1976 Saab hatchback are young Steve Staples, an able Maine guide, and two companions. Suddenly, the ice opens and swallows the car. All three nearly drown.
Staples still dreams about the horror.
An increasing number of accidents like these in the past three winters have safety experts worried. Minnesota has logged more than 100 sinkings, scores of rescues and over 20 deaths. Michigan and New York combine to add another 20 deaths. But from such tragedies have sprung dramatic new investigations -and some fantastic discoveries that can save lives. The discovery of deep freeze dates back to a day in 1973 when a college student drove across what he thought was a snowy field in Michigan.