A Cromwell woman says she has lost one of her last tangible links to her late mother after her car rolled into Lake Dunstan yesterday.
Marion Haig (62) had parked her Honda City in Donegal St to deliver her sister some groceries.
She placed them on the doorstep then turned around to see her car had gone.
At first she thought it had been stolen, then realised it was probably in the lake.
''I ran down the bank and was going to dive in after it ... I was just thinking about getting it out.
''I nursed my mother until she died in June. It was her car ... it was called Francie [after her mother] and everyone in Cromwell knew it. Today is the end of an era.''
Although she had other links to her mother (the house where her mother lived and died is still in the family, for example) she did not feel as connected to them as she was to the car.
''It [the car] was her life.''
Sergeant Bruce Martin said the car had been parked, facing downhill, near the corner of Donegal and Alpha Sts.
Although the handbrake was on, it had rolled down Donegal St, across Alpha St, over the kerb, down the bank and into the lake. Diver Richard Wallis, who attached a tow rope to the car so it could be winched out, said it was in about 4m of water and ''wasn't too difficult to get out''.
''It was lucky it had flipped over and hadn't rolled any further or it would've gone down on to the original riverbed, which is quite bit of a drop from there.''
Police and the salvage crew were able to retrieve Miss Haig's wallet from the car.
It included an unscratched lottery ticket. Although it fell apart when she tried to scratch it, she still had the serial number and hoped for a big win.
She was treated at the Cromwell Medical Centre for shock.
The car was insured.
Sgt Martin said the handbrake was on ''but probably not hard enough'', and it was a timely reminder motorists should leave vehicles in gear, or park if it is an automatic, when parking on hills.
