A crew shooting a Ram truck commercial had a very bad day on Wednesday when the Power Wagon they were filming on a Northern California beach ended up stuck in the ocean for a bit. Say it with us now: Haw-haw!
The Lost Coast Outpost website reports that a commercial being filmed at Luffenholtz Beach in Humboldt County came to a halt when the Ram became nearly submerged in the waters. A local resident came upon the failed shoot and snapped a few pictures because he was concerned about its impact on the environment. (Because California.) The beach was closed off to the public for the shoot, but cars and trucks are normally not allowed on it.
It appears the truck got stuck on some rocks and then the tide came in. It's also not known how long it was in the water or how and when it was removed. Here's what that concerned resident wrote to the Outpost:
I commented on the location of the truck & stated the driver must of Drove over tide pools to get in that location. No one could confirm how the truck got stuck, but the pictures clearly show major environmental damage has been done to one of the most pristine sections of beach in all of California.
The main film guy got very antsy w/ my line of questioning and quickly jumped in his rented Jeep [C]herokee & drove away. I talked w/ a friend who was 1st on the scene. He said it looked like the truck drove right off the cliff. When he 1st arrived the truck was stuck in the sand & rocks. As the tide quickly rose the truck became submerged.
[...] The truck is now close to fully submerged. I’m sure toxic fluids are streaming into our surf zone. The tragedy of this situation is Camel Rock is the number one surf spot in Humboldt County. This is the pride of the surfing community. Moonstone Beach is THE family beach in Humboldt County & now in the name of profit the beach has been damaged, the tide pools have been polluted & the precious sea life in this PROTECTED zone is in danger.
The man said he had a friend call the local sheriff's office, and that was the first they had heard of the incident.
Another resident said on his Facebook page that the guy behind the wheel of the truck was driving along a narrow stretch of the beach when he decided to go on top of one of the rocks. That's when he got high-centered and couldn't get any traction in the sand.
A Humboldt Film Commission official confirmed to the Outpost that a Ram commercial was indeed being shot at the beach on Wednesday afternoon.
We have a call into the folks at Chrysler to see what happened here. But considering how angry the locals are over the likely very minimal environmental impact of this accident, it may end up a bullet they can't Dodge.
Sorry. That was too easy.
Photo credit Jeff Bernard on Facebook