Missouri bridge leap ends chase, sheriff says

A Missouri man accused of fleeing deputies ended a car chase by getting out on a two-lane bridge and diving headfirst into Table Rock Lake, according to Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader.

Gavin Thor Lundgren, 26, of Kimberling City, was in custody Tuesday after being booked into jail Saturday, inmate records show. The records list allegations of resisting arrest by fleeing, careless driving, third-degree assault and interfering with an arrest.

Rader said deputies tried to pull over the car Lundgren was driving shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday in Kimberling City, a small community about 180 miles southeast of Kansas City. Instead, the sheriff said, deputies were led south in a pursuit that eventually reached a bridge.

Dashcam footage from a deputy’s vehicle showed the car Lundgren is accused of driving still creeping forward after he got out, NBC News reported. Deputies followed, and officials reported no serious injuries connected to the rolling sedan.

Rader said Lundgren exited from the driver’s side, stumbled across the lane for oncoming traffic and went over the side of the bridge into the lake below.

Deputies searched for him after the jump until one deputy found him, according to the sheriff. NBC affiliate KYTV of Springfield reported that Lundgren is accused of headbutting two deputies during the arrest.

Rader said in a statement Monday that the episode was a first for his office and that Lundgren was fortunate to survive the fall. The sheriff also said Lundgren resisted arrest and that deputies had minor injuries while taking him into custody.

Lundgren was being held without bond in a county jail, according to inmate records cited by NBC News.

Court documents did not list any attorney representing him, NBC News reported. The public defender for the area did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.