[Bob]

How is it even possible to drive any vehicle 175 feet off a boat ramp and into 20 feet of water? Makes no sense.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Why would it be that hard? They were driving in fog, couldn’t see more than 20 feet ahead. The boat ramp was at the end of the “road”, since they were in a parking lot. They just drove into a puddle which turned out to be a lake, and she was probably driving too fast for conditions because they were late and wanted to get home, and by the time she realized it wasn’t a puddle, it was too late.

I’m looking for a google map picture of the boat ramp.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Found it, and yep, the road literally just runs into the water. And of course, the ramp is made for that, it goes in shallow.
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[William Tell]

Bob said: "How is it even possible to drive any vehicle 175 feet off a boat ramp and into 20 feet of water?"

I believe that there are boat ramps that must accommodate very large variations in lake water levels. When the lake is at its peak height, the boat ramp may appear to be very short. However, under the water, the ramp continues at the same slope for whatever length is needed to make the ramp usable when the lake level is low.

The momentum of the vehicle will carry it quite far whether it floats out into the lake or rolls on the ramp underwater.

[brooklin]

“How is it even possible to drive any vehicle 175 feet off a boat ramp and into 20 feet of water? Makes no sense”

The vehicle floats for a bit, and the momentum carries it out a ways.