NORTH CAROLINA — A man is in custody after authorities said he jumped nearly 60 feet from the Thomas Rhodes Bridge into the Cape Fear River early Sunday morning while trying to escape arrest.
The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office reported that the incident started around 2 a.m. when the man drove the wrong way on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge and collided with another vehicle. After the crash, he got out of his car and ran.
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Deputies tracked him to the Thomas Rhodes Bridge and were preparing to arrest him when he leapt into the river. The Wilmington Fire Department launched a boat and located the man on an island, where he was arrested with assistance from deputies and officers on the boat.
Authorities said he sustained only minor injuries from the fall. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation, then released and booked into the New Hanover County Detention Center.
The sheriff’s office has not yet released his name or the charges he will face.