NEW YORK: A U.S. Border Patrol agent was responding to a chase at the Blue Water Bridge when his vehicle entered the St. Clair River early Wednesday morning, said Kris Grogan, Customs and Border Protection public affairs officer.
The St. Clair County Sheriff Dive Team spent several hours along the river in Algonac Wednesday retrieving the submerged SUV, which came to a rest about 200 feet from shore. Grogan said the agent was not asleep at the time of the incident and there was no further information about how it happened.
The agent was rescued from the river near the Algonac water plant by Clay Township firefighters shortly after 5:15 a.m. The agent had been clinging to the seawall when he was rescued, according to officials.
The agent was treated and released at a local hospital.
A 23-year-old man was taken into custody following a chase from the Blue Water Bridge early Wednesday.
Grogan said the incident happened about 4:50 a.m. Wednesday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers pursued the suspect vehicle after he fled an inspection point at the Blue Water Bridge. Officers requested help from Port Huron Police Department, the St. Clair County Sheriff Department and local Border Patrol agents.
The man avoided tire deflation devices deployed by CBP officers.
The man was arrested after he crashed his vehicle into a St. Clair County Sheriff vehicle in downtown Port Huron.
No injuries were reported.
The 23-year-old U.S. citizen has “an extensive criminal history,” Grogan said, in an email.
