Father, son attempt to elude Elmore County deputy by jumping off bridge

ELMORE COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - It happened Sunday morning at 2:30 in front of the Russell plant on Highway 14.

“The tag itself came back stolen, not the vehicle itself,” said Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin.

At first, the driver seemed to do the right thing and pulled over, but as soon as the deputy got out of his cruiser the suspect sped away. It all ended one mile away when the driver decided to stop on top of the Calloway Creek Bridge, and what happened next surprised even the pursing lawman.

“And he noticed that the passenger door flew open and the passenger approached the bridge a few feet where the car had pulled over and the passenger jumped over the bridge into the water and also the driver scampered across the vehicle and he also jumped off the bridge,” said Franklin.

The two men are father and son. The son is in the Elmore County Jail while the father remains hospitalized with broken ribs. The father, Franklin said, had to be put on a backboard, carried up the ravine and 150 yards to the highway.

“Both swallowed an undetermined amount of methamphetamine and we found some leftover drugs in the car,” said Franklin.

Sheriff Bill Franklin says 23-year-old Robert Swindle faces several drug charges. The sheriff declined to release the dad’s name for now, but he, too, will face similar charges. Franklin says the suspects had just left the casino in Wetumpka.

He didn’t want to say too much about how the two are allegedly connected to the stolen tag part of the investigation.

“It’s not every day you stop someone and they jump off the bridge,” Franklin said wryly.

Swindle is in jail on bonds totaling around $25,000

Franklin publicly thanked Wetumpka Fire and Rescue.

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