
Gavin Thor Lundgren. Image source: Stone County (Mo.) Sheriff's Office

'This was definitely a first,' the county sheriff said.
A Missouri motorist was caught on police dashcam video exiting his car on a bridge amid a police chase last weekend — and actually diving over the side of the bridge. But that's only part of the wild turn of events.
The Stone County Sheriff’s Office said deputies tried to stop a car on the north end of Kimberling City around 1:50 a.m. last Saturday, KYTV-TV reported. Kimberling City is a little over half an hour west of Branson.
'Contact water patrol. He just jumped over the bridge!'
The driver then fled going south, the station said, adding that deputies noted the car was going 75 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone.
The pursuit led deputies to the Kimberling City Bridge, where the driver — later identified as Gavin Thor Lundgren — exited the car and jumped off the east side of the bridge, landing in Rock Lake, the station said.
An annoyed deputy can be heard on dashcam video remarking, "Contact water patrol. He just jumped over the bridge!"
According to Better Branson, the Kimberling City Bridge's "vertical clearance above deck" is 15.8 feet. But Sheriff Doug Rader said in KYTV's video report that it's about a 40-foot drop to the water.
Deputies said they stopped Lundgren's car as it was still in drive and was continuing to roll forward, KYTV noted.
Southern Stone County firefighters on a boat assisted in locating Lundgren while other units remained on shore, the station said, adding that a deputy on scene later found Lundgren.
"This was definitely a first, and luckily he survived the fall," Rader said.
Besides his outlandish stunt, Lundgren also is accused of injuring three deputies while he was being taken into custody; KYTV said Lundgren head-butted two of the deputies.
Deputies eventually brought Lundgren to the Stone County Jail, the station said, citing the probable cause statement.
Jail records indicate that Lundgren, 26, is charged with resisting arrest by fleeing, careless driving, three counts of third-degree assault, and resisting/interfering with arrest for a felony. He remained behind bars Friday.
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