[Xtatic]

Thief Jumps Off 50-Foot Bridge To Escape Cops

A man suspected of stealing a van in Fort Myers, Florida, ended up in hot water after he jumped off a bridge to escape police.

Video released by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office shows the van being driven at high speed on the Edison Bridge, which is a set of two one-way bridges. The video was filmed from a police helicopter.

The van is seen suddenly swerving and hitting the barricade on the side of the bridge. The van then veers and hits the barricade on the other side before screeching to a halt in the middle of the bridge.

The suspect, identified later by police as Bryan Gray, 34, exits the van and runs toward the barricade as a police vehicle pulls up. Immediately after a police officer gets out of the car, Gray dives headfirst into the Caloosahatchee River, landing with a huge splash. It’s unclear how far he fell during his dive.

Gray eventually emerges, and a police officer in the helicopter filming the incident can be heard saying that he can see the suspect, whose head is seen bobbing up and down in the water under the bridge. A police boat arrives and detains Gray, who remained close to one of the pillars supporting the bridge.

“On Saturday evening [Oct. 30], North District deputies attempted a traffic stop on a stolen van traveling on Bayshore Road. The suspect, later identified as Bryan Gray … sped off westbound toward U.S. 41,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

“Aviation pilots arrived on scene and observed him from the air,” and captured the footage.

“At the top of the Edison Bridge, the van abruptly swerved and crashed into a retaining barrier. Gray got out of the van, jumped over the safety barrier, and dove into the Caloosahatchee River.

“A perimeter was established, and Fort Myers Police Department’s Marine Unit was deployed. Gray was pulled from the water and detained by deputies before being transported to a local hospital to receive treatment.

“While he may not have earned a gold medal for his high dive, Gray did find himself in hot water when he earned pending charges of grand theft auto and fleeing and eluding,” the sheriff’s office said.

It is unclear who the van belongs to and whether it can be repaired.

[kellyhound]

It is unclear who the van belongs to and whether it can be repaired.

The suspect, Bryan Gray, 34, was driving over 100 mph in a stolen van, and the owner of that van says Gray is her nephew.

The woman says her nephew got out of prison last October after being behind bars for 12 years. Now, she thinks the safest thing for him and for the community could be sending him back to prison.

Gray was released from Florida state prison in October 2020 after serving 11 years of a 12-year sentence for a 2009 armed robbery. He previously served two years of three-year sentence for 2005 charges of burglary and forgery in Duvall County.

“Because of previous incidences, he was not allowed to stay with me at all because he’s homeless and my husband called me, actually he texted me and told me the van was ‘missing,'” Chacon said.

She says Gray waited until her husband was asleep to take the keys to the van.

A video that was taken on the morning of Wednesday, October 27 shows Gray packing up his aunt’s van and taking as many belongings from the home as possible. “I was angry, I was at the same time still kind of worried about him but then it was like, then I saw all of my hard work to try to provide for my family, my husband is disabled he got a kidney transplant, he knows what we go through,” said Chacon.

At least once per month, Chacon’s husband needs that van to go visit his doctors in Tampa. And, every once in a while, it provides a way for them both to escape from their reality. “I made sure I worked really hard to make sure I got a decent van that we could be low on funds and stuff and go on family road trips and stuff like that,” Chacon said.

After he stole her van, Chacon now knows what sort of tough love Gray needs. “I would say I want him to get help but I don’t think there’s help for him. I would say the best thing for everybody is for him to be locked back up,” she said.

Chacon told that even if her nephew was in critical condition, she’d want to be by his side. She says she wouldn’t want him to die alone. However, the wound Gray created by stealing her van is too deep to fully heal.


back to jail for a permanent stay and rot.

[Nofx99]

Black men can't jump (don't know how)