The plane crushed a small truck. The driver somehow didn't die.
https://winknews.com/wp-content/uplo...ple-2-9-24.jpg
In hindsight the canal was the least obstructed choice. It's shallow enough to prevent sinking and wheels up would have been less traumatic. Width wise is a bit tight, but doable. Engines over wings so they don't scoop water. However I can see the option of setting the plane down on a nice concrete landing area would be very attractive, so second guessing doesn't show the choice from the front seats was fundamentally flawed. It's been done successfully by others, but the traffic here was far denser than those previous landings and the plane much faster than similar attempts. Coasting a 172 off at the next exit is far simpler than this.
Had they not hit the truck they might have managed to straighten it out, but the collision with the truck looks to me like it forced the plane to roll (as in roll-pitch-yaw) towards the wall.