Flagler County deputies chase suspect into canal, arrest him at home

PALM COAST, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says a man was arrested Sunday after he crashed his car and swam across a canal to get away from deputies.

Investigators say the situation started as a traffic infraction, but they say when a deputy tried to pull over Tyler Sweeney, he sped away and then hit an AT&T box in Palm Coast.

Deputies say Sweeney bailed out of the car and ran into a ravine to escape.

“You wonder when a person runs from you with that fervor, like they’ve got to get away – you’re wondering what they did,” said Flagler Co. Sheriff’s Office Commander David Williams.

Williams said they looked up the car’s registration to try and get a name and address for the driver.

“One of the things we do once they run like that is we’ll have someone go to that residence and attempt to make contact and that’s what we did,” Williams said.

Deputies say after Sweeney left the scene, he went home. He was caught and handcuffed there. 

Back at the crash site, officials searched the crashed car. Investigators say they found bags and a mason jar filled with marijuana, pills and a gun with the serial number scratched off.

Sweeney is facing five felony charges.