Florida deputy swims across canal to catch fleeing suspect

A suspect who led Florida deputies on a lengthy car chase ended up jumping in a canal in a failed attempt to escape.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office said the suspect, 20-year-old Pedro Luis Padilla, was driving a truck when deputies noticed the vehicle had been reported as stolen.

When deputies attempted to pull Padilla over, he instead led them on a 27-mile-long chase.

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A sheriff's helicopter assisted in tracking the pursuit. Aerial footage showed a deputy performing a PIT maneuver after Padilla pulled onto a dead-end street, just feet away from a canal.

Video showed Padilla getting out of the truck after it was disabled, then running and diving into the canal to escape arrest.

Pedro Luis Padilla (Collier County Sheriff's Office)

As Padilla swam across the murky water, one deputy soon dived in after him, crossing the 40-foot canal to the other side.

"Padilla stopped running upon seeing an agency helicopter hovering above," the sheriff's office said.

The deputy who swam after the suspect then took Padilla into custody on the other side of the canal.

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Padilla faces charges of grand theft auto, fleeing and eluding, driving with a suspended license, and resisting arrest without violence.