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A 34-year-old man attempted to get away from police over the weekend by jumping from the top of a Florida bridge into a river after losing control of a stolen van, authorities said. Aerial footage of the wild chase showed the man plunge into the water as the police closed in.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook it all started when deputies attempted to pull the van over Saturday evening and the driver, identified as Bryan Gray, sped off. On the Edison Bridge, the van suddenly swerved across the empty three-lane highway and crashed into a barrier on one side and then on the other side before coming to a stop.
Video footage from a police helicopter shows the suspect stumbling out of the van and making his way toward the bridge’s railing. He climbed over it and stood above the Caloosahatchee River briefly as a police vehicle pulled up.
The suspect then looked down at the water below before standing up and taking the jump.
CBS affiliate WINK-TV reports that a Fort Myers Police Department boat was deployed to pull the suspect from the river.
“While he may not have earned a gold medal for his high dive, Gray did find himself in hot water,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
The suspect was taken to a hospital for treatment, the sheriff’s office said. He’s facing pending charges of grand theft auto and fleeing police.
