He crashed into a sheriff’s detective’s car. His getaway ended in the river, cops say
A Tampa man went to extremes in an attempt to get away after crashing into a Hillsborough County sheriff’s detective, the Florida Highway Patrol says, and dramatic video recorded the capture.
According to a FHP press release, Jack Knapper, 43, was driving a gray Mustang on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday and crashed into an unmarked Chevy Impala being driven by the detective while he was stopped at a traffic light.
The detective made contact with Knapper and instructed him to pull his vehicle off to the side of the road, but troopers say Knapper drove away instead. A witness to the accident called the sheriff’s office to let them know he was following the Mustang, which was entering Interstate 75 just north of the Fletcher Avenue exit.
Before law enforcement could arrive, Knapper abandoned the vehicle and ran away, but the witness was still reporting it all.
Troopers say Knapper ran into a heavily wooded area as law enforcement arrived to begin a chase, at which time Knapper jumped into the Hillsborough River in one last failed attempt to escape.
A sheriff’s office aviation unit joined in the chase and spotted Knapper in the river, at which time a FHP trooper and a sheriff’s deputy jumped in after him, escorting Knapper from the river and making the arrest, troopers say.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome in this case,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a prepared statement. “Our HCSO deputies and FHP troopers worked together seamlessly to take a dangerous driver off the road and take him into custody without anyone getting hurt. Criminals don’t care about county lines or whose jurisdiction they are in, so it’s up to us as law enforcement officers to work as a team to keep our communities safe.”
Knapper was charged with leaving the scene of a crash, fleeing to elude, driving without a license and resisting arrest without violence. Troopers say Knapper also faces a possible DUI charge as the investigation continues.