FORT MYERS, Fla. – A police chase ended with a man jumping 55 feet down from a bridge into a river after the stolen van he was driving crushed against the safety barriers, officials said. The man was taken to a hospital and is facing charges of vehicle theft and eluding police.
A Lee County Sheriff's Office statement said officers first tried to stop the stolen van on Oct. 29 in Fort Myers, but the driver sped away and onto the Edison Bridge, where the van could be seen swerving before crashing into barriers on both sides of the bridge. Officers swiftly surrounded the van, but by then the driver had gotten out and climbed to the bridge's edge.
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Video recorded from a sheriff’s helicopter showed the man hesitating for a moment before jumping feet first into the Caloosahatchee River, about 55 feet (17 meters) down. He then swam to a bridge support and was pulled from the water by officers on a boat.