Man flees police, jumps into cold Spokane River

A man fleeing police during a traffic stop early today ran onto the Trent Avenue Bridge over the Spokane River and jumped into the frigid water, authorities reported. The incident occurred when officers pulled over a vehicle at Trent and Erie Street. A man inside the vehicle ran to the bridge and jumped in at 1:50 a.m., disappearing under the bridge. Spokane fire crews were called to the scene and found the man clinging to a bridge piling in about chest-deep water. He was rescued and loaded into an ambulance to start treatment for hypothermia, the fire department reported. He was then taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center for treatment. The police department has the case under investigation, fire officials said.