A Newport man walked away unharmed after driving his Chevy pickup truck into the ocean on Friday night.

According to an accident report from the Newport Police Department, the man was driving on Harrison Avenue when the steering column on his truck locked and he could not make the turn. There was no one else in the truck.

He told police he was traveling about 35 miles per hour between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. when his truck mounted the curb, struck the sea wall and went into the water. He was able to escape by climbing out of the rear sliding window. He abandoned his personal belongings, including his wallet and cell phone.

The man did not seek any medical treatment.

Reports said the man walked home and fell alseep. When he walked back to the scene on Saturday morning, officials were there investigating. He approached police officers to let them know the truck in the water was his.

Newport police were dispatched to the scene around 8:35 a.m. on Saturday morning. Newport Fire Department, Department of Environmenal Management and Coast Guard officials also responded.

The truck was removed later in the day on Saturday due to rough weather conditions.

The registration on the truck came back to a Natick, MA man with no vehicle assigned the the registration. The VIN number came back as a Chevy K1500 pickup to an Ashland, MA woman. Police suspect the driver purchased the truck privately and failed to register it.

He was cited for operating an unregistered vehicle, failure to immediately notify authorities of an accident and operating without proof of insurance.  

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