GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officials say they had to rescue a man from a pond who fled from them after they tried to conduct a traffic stop.
GPD shared in a Facebook post that officers were in the area of NE 25th Street and NE Sixth Avenue a little after midnight on Thursday and noticed a man on a red scooter.
After running the tag, they learned the tag expired in 2018 and the scooter was stolen.
Officers say when they tried to conduct a traffic stop, the man ran into the woods near the 2400 block of NE Sixth Avenue.
Police say found the driver in a nearby pond ‘in distress.’ According to GPD, officers told the man to swim to them, but he was unable.
GPD says multiple officers got in the water in attempt to rescue him. They tied a K-9 handler’s leash to one of the officers who then swam to the driver. They say the driver went under. An officer was able to bring him back above the waterline and collectively they pulled the officer and the man back to shore.
Police say they began CPR on the driver until EMS came. They transported him to the hospital where he died.
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The officer who rescued the driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries.