According to the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office, a driver leading a high-speed pursuit reportedly drove a truck into Florida’s Suwannee River and drifted away as the pursuer watched from the beach.
The maneuver effectively put an end to the pursuit, but it ultimately demonstrated that pickups aren’t made to float.
“The vehicle drifted downstream, got stuck on a branch, and began to sink,” the sheriff’s office said in a news statement.
According to authorities, it happened on Tuesday, April 25, as Deputy B. Stone was going after a man sought in connection with a building fire in the town of Suwannee. On Florida’s Gulf Coast, Suwannee is located about 160 miles to the north of Tampa.
According to officials, the white Ford pickup entered the river through the Anderson Boat Ramp at Joe Henry Anderson Park.
Investigators did not say how far the truck drifted, but images show most of it finally sank below the surface, with only its tailgate and one corner of the roof visible.
As the vehicle sank, the driver leaped out and “made his way to shore, where he was placed under arrest,” according to authorities. Investigators did not disclose he received injuries during the voyage.
He has been charged with first-degree arson; fleeing or attempting to elude; leaving the scene of a crash involving damage; dumping of litter; two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer; two counts of resisting an officer with violence; criminal mischief; discharging a firearm from a vehicle and possession of a fire bomb, officials said.
Suspected explosive devices were found at the driver’s Chiefland home, sparking the investigation, the Chiefland Police Department announced on Facebook.
“There were objects found in the home. However they were dismantled by authorities and were not of calamitous nature,” police said.
Levy County, where Chiefland is located, is roughly 35 miles northeast of Suwannee.
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