Crews were searching late last night for a man who jumped from the Sherman Minton Bridge after a long police pursuit involving multiple agencies that crisscrossed the Ohio River.
Police in New Albany, Ind., began pursuing a man driving a stolen van sometime before 9 p.m. yesterday, said department spokesman Todd Bailey. The driver crossed the Interstate 64 bridge into Louisville, then returned to New Albany, with police in pursuit, Bailey said.
The chase ended about 9 p.m. when the driver stopped the van near the middle pillar of the Sherman Minton Bridge after going onto it a third time.
"The officers in pursuit saw the man jump over the side of the bridge," said New Albany fire Battalion Chief Stephen Byrd.
His agency, along with Louisville Fire & Rescue, the Louisville Metro Police dive team and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, began searching for the man in the water.
At 10:20 p.m., rescue workers were combing the banks of the river in New Albany and boats were in the water searching with spotlights.
As of 11 p.m., Indiana conservation officers were still searching.
"The fate of the driver is not known," Bailey said.
The man jumped from the lower deck of the bridge, which holds the eastbound lanes of I-64.
Bailey declined to offer information about the driver's identity or the stolen vehicle, except to say that it was a several-ton box truck.
There were no passengers in the vehicle when the man jumped, Byrd said.
Chris McDowell, 31, said he was leaving his home at Fifth and Main streets in New Albany to go to the store when he had to veer off the road as the chase entered the bridge headed toward Louisville for the last time.
"There was cops everywhere -- it was like they busted up an ant pile," he said.
He said the van that police were pursuing had commercial lettering on it.
Shawn Bowling, 34, said he was driving from work to his home in Clarksville, Ind., when he saw a similar van hit police spikes in New Albany and continue onto the bridge.
"He was going at least 70, maybe 80; he was flying," Bowling said.
Floyd County police also responded to the scene.
Police in New Albany, Ind., began pursuing a man driving a stolen van sometime before 9 p.m. yesterday, said department spokesman Todd Bailey. The driver crossed the Interstate 64 bridge into Louisville, then returned to New Albany, with police in pursuit, Bailey said.
The chase ended about 9 p.m. when the driver stopped the van near the middle pillar of the Sherman Minton Bridge after going onto it a third time.
"The officers in pursuit saw the man jump over the side of the bridge," said New Albany fire Battalion Chief Stephen Byrd.
His agency, along with Louisville Fire & Rescue, the Louisville Metro Police dive team and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, began searching for the man in the water.
At 10:20 p.m., rescue workers were combing the banks of the river in New Albany and boats were in the water searching with spotlights.
As of 11 p.m., Indiana conservation officers were still searching.
"The fate of the driver is not known," Bailey said.
The man jumped from the lower deck of the bridge, which holds the eastbound lanes of I-64.
Bailey declined to offer information about the driver's identity or the stolen vehicle, except to say that it was a several-ton box truck.
There were no passengers in the vehicle when the man jumped, Byrd said.
Chris McDowell, 31, said he was leaving his home at Fifth and Main streets in New Albany to go to the store when he had to veer off the road as the chase entered the bridge headed toward Louisville for the last time.
"There was cops everywhere -- it was like they busted up an ant pile," he said.
He said the van that police were pursuing had commercial lettering on it.
Shawn Bowling, 34, said he was driving from work to his home in Clarksville, Ind., when he saw a similar van hit police spikes in New Albany and continue onto the bridge.
"He was going at least 70, maybe 80; he was flying," Bowling said.
Floyd County police also responded to the scene.
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