Delivery driver takes wrong turn, lands in Hyde Park fountain

A 21-year-old Uber Eats driver crashed a rental car into the Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park after taking a wrong turn while completing a food delivery, prompting an impromptu rescue mission by police.

The French national told officers he was delivering a McDonald’s order about 4am on Wednesday when his navigation system mistakenly directed him into the park.

Police believe the Kia station wagon became stuck on the edge of the fountain when the driver reversed in an attempt to drive out of the park.

Officers say they discovered the man, who arrived in Australia two weeks ago, in the driver’s seat of the vehicle eating the McDonald’s meal he originally intended to deliver.

The man tested negative for alcohol at the scene and was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital for blood tests. He was transferred to Day Street Police Station where he was charged with negligent driving, not reversing a vehicle safely, and unlicensed driving, and was granted bail to appear at the Downing Centre on July 15.

A whipped cream gas canister was seized by police at the scene, who will also inspect the car after it was towed from the fountain. The man refused to be interviewed by police, and failed to produce a drivers’ licence following his arrest.

Up to $20,000 in estimated damages was caused to the fountain, including smashed glass at the base of one bronzed figure and scratch marks on its edge.

NSW Police Inspector Anderson Lessing said it was “not the run-of-the-mill job” his team were sent to, as they discovered the car “half sticking inside, half sticking out” of the fountain.

“I don’t know how he’s put it in reverse into the fountain, but that’s the story he’s going with,” Lessing told ABC Sydney radio.

“Hopefully, his star on Uber app doesn’t go down because of his lack of delivering that Maccas.”

The Archibald Fountain was commissioned to pay homage to the bond forged between Australia and France in the First World War, provided in 1919 through a bequest in the will of publisher J.F. Archibald. It was designed by French sculptor Francois Sicard, and handed to the City of Sydney in 1932 almost six years after Sicard was selected for the job.