Most people see the Los Angeles River and think, “absolutely not.”
This woman apparently saw it and thought: “Free water ride.”
A wild viral video shows her casually floating down the concrete LA River with no raft, no tube and seemingly zero concern about the fast-moving current, or what exactly is floating around with her.
The clip shows bystanders filming the bizarre scene from a bridge or the riverbank.
“There is no way this woman is in the water right now!” they yell.
Then they ask where she’s headed.
“I’m floating! I’m getting carried… How are y’all doing today?” she replies.
The clip quickly made the rounds on YouTube Shorts and Facebook, with reposts calling it “Real Life GTA” — a reference to the Grand Theft Auto franchise, which famously features a replica of LA’s iconic concrete river channel.
Only difference: this isn’t a video game, and there’s no respawn button.
The LA River is urban runoff containing high levels of bacteria, trash and chemical pollutants, making swimming highly discouraged and dangerous.
And then there’s the river’s other reality: Parts of it have long provided a hidden refuge for homeless people trying to escape city sidewalks and police sweeps.
Conditions in those areas have raised significant public concern.
