Here’s some advice for any exotic car owner out there; never try to cross water in your pride and joy, unless its one of those other-worldly SUVs to have launched in recent years.

On July 27, a Ferrari California owner in the United States could have heeded this advice when attempting to cross a channel of water stretching across a roadway in New Jersey.

According to the man behind the vertical video (Vertical? Really?), the incident happened after severe thunderstorms caused a minor flash flood on the New Jersey turnpike. Doing what any responsible human would do, the man took out his camera and started to film the scene. Seconds later, a black Ferrari California came into view, stuck in the water with no hope of escaping.

If you rewind to the start of the video, you’ll notice that the water initially wasn’t very deep and at least three other vehicles can be seem creeping forwards, with their drivers perhaps thinking twice about wading into the unknown.

For whatever reason, the Ferrari driver also approached the water in the same direction but perhaps underestimated how deep the water would become. By the time the man with the camera came along, water appears to be nearing the bottom of the California’s doors.

It remains to be seen what happened in the minutes after the video was recorded but it is entirely possible the water got even deeper. For the sake of the owner however, we hope that wasn’t the case and that no irreparable damage was done to the car.

If the car is a write-off, at least it’s only a California and not a more respectable Ferrari model…