Local News in Brief : Newport Beach : Man Drives Into Bay; He, Passenger Swim Out

A suspected drunk driver lost control of his car and careened into Newport Bay, authorities said Monday.

Newport Beach police said they were called at 1:36 a.m. Sunday after the 26-year-old driver, identified as Sean Lee Callaway of Newport Beach, drove his Mercedes-Benz into the bay near the Cannery Restaurant.

Both Callaway and his passenger, Anthony Alrawi, 30, of Fullerton, managed to swim to safety, police said, but the car sank. Callaway was booked on suspicion of drunk driving and released on his own recognizance from Newport Beach City Jail.

Police spokesman Bob Oakley said Callaway was headed east on 30th Street in a friend’s Mercedes Benz 260-E when he lost control, drove up on a sidewalk near the bay-side restaurant and crashed through a wooden retainer and into the water.

A witness standing nearby on the dock boarded his boat and rushed out to help rescue the occupants of the sinking vehicle, Oakley said. But the driver and passenger were able to escape through an open sunroof and swim to shore.

The witness, Karl Ulriksen of Newport Beach, told police that he then tried to tow the car to shore but that it took on too much water and sank. Oakley said the car was retrieved from the bay later Sunday.

“It’s a little wet,” he said.