'He loves that car more than me': Distraught son drives father's mini-van into New York lake

It looked like a high-speed chase gone wrong when a van went flying into a New York City lake on Friday.



In reality, it was the result of a distraught man desperate for his father's attention.



Thirty-year-old Anthony Romo, of the Bronx, drove his father's vehicle into the Harlem Meer Lake at Manhattan's Central Park, because his father 'cares more about that van than he does about me,' he told reportedly told a witness.

Escape: Anthony Romo scrambled out of the vehicle and swam back to shore, where he was helped by rescuers

Shock: Anthony Romo sitting on the lawn as the mini-van sinks behind him

Fortunately, Mr Romo escaped the sinking vehicle unharmed.



Robert Evan Flores, 17, watched in disbelief as the teal 1997 Nissan Quest sped down a pedestrian path toward the water and plunged into the lake.

He told the New York Daily News: 'He was just going straight. It looked like he meant to do it. He looked like he was crazy.'



Mr Romo was alone in the vehicle.

Distraught: The 30-year-old reportedly told a witness his father 'cares more about that van than he does about me'

Sinking fast: Mr Romo drove his father's minivan into the Harlem Meer Lake at Manhattan's Central Park on Friday after the pair got into a heated argument

Rescue team: Police pulled the van out of the lake after the incident

After squeezing through an opened window he swam to a grassy lawn nearby, where John McBride and his pregnant wife had just laid down to enjoy their Friday afternoon. The couple came to his rescue.



Oddly, the man appeared rather unfased, Mr McBride said.



'He said, "My father cares more about that van than he does about me." Then he sat down. He didn't try to resist or run... It was insane.



'He blew right by us. And he blew right into the lake,' Mr McBride remembered.



Police, firefighters and emergency crews reached the scene.



Mr Romo was strapped to a body board and taken to local St Luke's Hospital, police said.



His father, Ken, told the News he got into a fight with his son earlier in the day. He said his son drove off and had not heard from him since.

