A suspect jumped off a Missouri bridge while police cars were chasing him late Saturday night. Gavin Lundgren, a 26-year-old resident of Kimberling City, was observed driving his 2004 Chevrolet Malibu at 75 mph in a 45 mph zone at around 1.50 a.m. The police officers tried to pull him over, but he did not stop at that time.
The officers used emergency lights and sirens to stop the vehicle, but Lundgren did not cooperate and pulled into a parking lot before driving around on the road, according to a local news report by KSN. At least two officers joined the car chase before it came to a halt on a bridge over a lake. Lundgren got out of his vehicle and jumped into Table Rock Lake to avoid arrest.
The dashcam video of the car chase showed Lundgren getting out of the car and crossing the road to jump off into the east side of the water body. Two officers approached his vehicle while two others were looking for him in the water. Before approaching the abandoned vehicle, the officers drew firearms for safety. There were no other people in the vehicle.
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The officers found his driver’s license in his car and called the local fire department to retrieve him from the water. Rescuers safely removed him from the lake using a boat. However, the struggle did not end here, as he headbutted and injured two officers while he was being taken into custody.
Three officers were injured during the altercation. The officers had injuries on their elbows and right hands and red marks under their eyes. They also reported small lacerations. He is being held at the Stone County Jail with no bond.
He has been charged with multiple felonies, including aggravated fleeing a stop and third-degree assault. Charges of two counts of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault are also added to the list.
The incident happened at 1:50 a.m. local time. The suspect can be seen with bruises on his face in his mugshot released by the Stone County Jail; however, he is smiling. It is unclear why he did not follow a simple traffic stop instruction and chose to put his life in danger while evading the police officers.
The case is still under investigation.
Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.
