Story By: Les Steed, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency:  Newsflash

A sheriff deputy jumped into a 40-foot canal to catch a fleeing suspect after a high-speed chase in Florida.

Collier County Sheriff deputies were chasing a stolen Ford truck after the driver led them on a 20-minute chase that ended when the suspect drove into a dead-end at the canal on Tuesday, 29th September.

Pedro Luis Padilla, 20, of Collier County, was tracked by air from East Naples as he led deputies north and ended up at a dead-end street in Golden Gate Estates on the outskirts of the city.

Deputies were in hot pursuit after the relative of the victim of the theft reported seeing it at a gas station.

Sheriffs deployed a K-9 Unit and used a PIT manoeuvre to get the 2004 pickup truck to stop after the 27-mile (43-kilometre), 60-mph (111-kph) chase.

The PIT maneuver (pursuit intervention technique) is a pursuit tactic by which a pursuing car can force a fleeing car to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop.

However, at that moment, instead of surrendering himself, Padilla decided to dive into the canal to escape to the other side.

One of the deputies jumped in and swam across the 40-foot canal to the other side to avoid losing the suspect.

Padilla then saw the helicopter hovering over him and stopped running and lay down on the ground for the swimming deputy to catch up and cuff him.

The helicopter pilot landed in an empty field nearby and backup units arrived on the opposite side of the canal to bring him in.

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

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