Man jumps 60 feet off bridge into frigid water to avoid arrest, Virginia police say

A man plunged roughly 60 feet off a bridge into the water below to evade officers, Virginia police said.

At 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 22, law enforcement saw a man in a black sedan driving recklessly on the James River Bridge in Newport News, according to Virginia State Police.

The 29-year-old man then hit another car, causing a four-vehicle crash, police said in a news release. The man got out of his vehicle and fled the scene on foot, authorities said.

As he approached the bridge’s draw, which is about 60 feet high, he spotted state police traveling in a lane of the bridge.

To avoid being arrested, he then jumped off the bridge’s south side and fell into the cold waters below, police said. The temperature in Newport News hit a high of 46 degrees and a low of 31, according to AccuWeather.

The river’s current carried him north until a civilian boat pulled him out of the water to safety. He was taken to a hospital, where Newport News police officers were waiting to arrest him once he was released.

The Suffolk man was wanted on a felony probation violation, police said.

Virginia State Police are investigating the crash.

Newport News is about 40 miles northwest of Virginia Beach.