It was probably the first time a dog had got behind the wheel of his owner's car and driven it into a river. Owner Mark Ewing felt helpless as he watched his black Labrador Charlie jump into the car through an open window, somehow put his Chevy Impala into neutral and roll it down into the Pend Oreille River in Idaho.

The incident took place on Wednesday evening when Ewing had just returned home from picking up a pizza.

AP quotes Ewing as saying, "There's nothing weirder than looking at your car cruising down your driveway when you're not in it and seeing your dog jump out and then watching your car go splash."

As the car sank into the river, Charlie jumped out of the window of the car to escape.