A would-be carjacker turned a routine fuel stop into a full-on Causeway spectacle Wednesday, when he allegedly tried to steal a vehicle in Mandeville, then bolted onto the southbound span of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and jumped into the water rather than give up. He was pulled from the lake by rescuers and taken into custody, after a brief police chase that started at a gas station on the Mandeville side of the bridge and continued onto the Causeway until the suspect’s truck ran out of fuel. Southbound commuters were delayed while emergency crews worked to haul the man out of the water.
Mandeville police said it started when a driver was pumping gas at the Discount Zone station at Louisiana Highway 22 and the West Causeway Approach. A man in a white truck, later reported stolen out of Ascension Parish, tried to climb into the victim’s vehicle, according to officers. The owner fought him off, and the suspect took off in a different truck onto the southbound Causeway, where the vehicle reportedly ran out of gas near mile marker 10, according to NOLA.com.
How The Causeway Chase Ended In The Water
Citing coverage from Fox 8 (WVUE), republished by KNOE, authorities said Causeway police caught up to the truck near mile marker 10. Instead of surrendering, the suspect went over the guardrail into Lake Pontchartrain. Crews lowered a rescue bucket and pulled him from the water at about 11:20 a.m., and southbound lanes reopened shortly before noon, officials told Fox 8.
Response And Traffic Impact
The Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission and police said the southbound span was briefly shut down while emergency responders and marine units handled the rescue, with the U.S. Coast Guard also assisting, according to NOLA.com. Authorities said the suspect never managed to steal the vehicle, and his identity and potential charges had not been released immediately.
