Spider forces frightened woman out of van; vehicle sinks into North Georgia river

The Etowah River runs through northwest Georgia and flows into Lake Allatoona.

Credit: Phil Skinner

Credit: Phil Skinner

The Etowah River runs through northwest Georgia and flows into Lake Allatoona.

An eight-legged creature is being blamed for the loss of a woman’s van in the Etowah River on Sunday.

The woman told a state trooper she was trying to back her Kia van down the Neel’s Landing Boat Launch to put her kayak in the river when a spider jumped in her lap.

Naturally, she jumped out of the van. The van then rolled into the river, the Georgia State Patrol said.

The agency sent a trooper to the boat launch in the western part of Bartow County near Kingston. By the time the trooper arrived, the van had long slipped out of sight.

“She stated that it floated downstream a few feet,” a GSP spokesman said. “And within seconds, it was totally submerged. A passerby in a boat attempted to locate the van, but without success.”

The woman’s insurance company will foot the bill for a dive team to locate the van and tow it out of the river, the spokesman said.

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