NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A man jumped off the James River Bridge to avoid getting arrested, according to Virginia State Police.
On Monday, Jan. 22 around 8:45 a.m., State police were told that a person driving a black sedan was driving recklessly on the JRB. They say the driver, 29-year-old Kelly Golden from Suffolk, is wanted for violating probation.
A DMV agent tried to stop Golden, but he refused and tried to drive away from the agent. In his attempt to flee, he hit three cars that were stopped due to a bridge lift, police say. None of the drivers in the cars Golden hit were injured.
Golden then got out of the car and started to run away, police say. When he approached the draw of the bridge and saw police, police say he tried to avoid arrest by jumping off the south side of the bridge into the James River.
Police say Golden drifted north on the river until a civilian vessel found him and pulled him to safety, police say. He was then taken to the hospital.
Just before 11 a.m., police said cars were being moved off the bridge to open up lanes of travel.
Golden has been charged with reckless driving for the crash, and state police say the DMV agent will take out charges for the eluding.
According to court documents, Golden has a past criminal history connected to arson. He was sentenced in 2010, when he was 17, to a total of 19 years in prison with all 19 suspended and four years in juvenile detention.
The time in juvenile detention was not suspended because he was deemed a "serious juvenile offender," according to the court documents. He was also ordered to pay a little over $950,000 in restitution.
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