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Man dies after jumping in pond near Franklin Walmart courtesy: Kimberly DeMoor Klamik
FRANKLIN -- A suspect is dead after jumping into a retention pond following a chase in Franklin. It happened Saturday afternoon, November 4th.
A last-minute decision to stop at Walmart Saturday afternoon, November 4th, nearly cost Judy V her life.
"Somebody came from behind flying past a whole bunch of cars, and he smashed my whole front end right off," said Judy.
Still shaken up, Judy says she wasn't hurt but her minivan is totaled.
Man dies after jumping in pond near Franklin Walmart courtesy: Kimberly DeMoor Klamik
Judy V
"I tried to limp into this parking lot here somehow. That's as far as I got and the car just wouldn't even turn anymore," Judy said.
The Franklin police chief says the driver of the suspect car was fleeing from officers at the time -- wanted in connection to a fraud complaint at a store on South 27th Street.
Man dies after jumping in pond near Franklin Walmart
"As the officer was interviewing the suspect, he fled from the officer, ran into his vehicle, fled from the scene. Another Franklin officer saw the vehicle and pursued it west on Sycamore," said Chief Rick Oliva, Franklin Police Department.
Man dies after jumping in pond near Franklin Walmart
After the collision, the suspect's car spun out and ended up on the grass outside of the store parking lot. Witnesses say they saw a female passenger run toward Walmart while the male driver ran in the opposite direction and jumped into a retention pond next to the scene.
Man dies after jumping in pond near Franklin Walmart
"When I walked over there I just heard kicking in the water and it sounded like he was gasping for air," said Joel Anderson, witness.
Several shoppers captured video of the Franklin dive team pulling the suspect from the pond 20 minutes later, and loading him onto a stretcher. The man was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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Police say the female passenger has been taken into custody.
Man dies after jumping in pond near Franklin Walmart
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