Video: Man Fleeing Law Enforcement Jumps Into Hillsborough River

NEW TAMPA, FL — A 43-year-old man jumped into the Hillsborough River to escape law enforcement Tuesday after being involved in a hit-and-run crash on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, a sheriff's detective was driving an unmarked Chevrolet Impala when he was rear ended by a Mustang while stopped at a red traffic light on Bruce B. Downs just south of Commerce Palms Boulevard.

The detective instructed the driver, Jack Opal Knapper, to pull over for a traffic crash investigation. Instead, Knapper sped away in the Mustang. A witness reported seeing him pull over on Interstate 75 just north of the Fletcher Avenue exit, get out of the Mustang and run west into a heavily wooded area before jumping into the river.

Once Knapper was located in the water with the help of the sheriff's aviation unit, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and sheriff's deputy jumped into the water and pulled Knapper to shore.

Knapper was charged with leaving the scene of a crash, fleeing to elude, driving without a valid license and resisting arrest without violence.

Knapper may be charged with driving under the influence as well.

He was taken to Tampa General Hospital to be treated for exhaustion.

Hillsborough Sheriff

Jack Opal Knapper

"We couldn't have asked for a better outcome in this case. Our HCSO deputies and FHP troopers worked together seamlessly to take a dangerous driver off of the road and take him into custody without anyone getting hurt," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "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. I'm proud to say we did just that."