Early Saturday in Kimberling City, deputies say 26-year-old Gavin Thor Lundgren chose a 50-foot plunge into Table Rock Lake over pulling over for law enforcement. Investigators say he jumped from the Highway 13 bridge in an apparent attempt to flee Stone County deputies. Emergency crews later found him along the shoreline and took him into custody after a brief struggle that left deputies with minor injuries.
A Stone County Sheriff's Office video, roughly 48 seconds long, shows Lundgren diving headfirst over the bridge rail into the dark water below. Investigators estimated the fall at about 50 feet. According to the probable-cause narrative, a deputy had just clocked a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu at about 75 mph before the driver abandoned the car and jumped. The report notes the Malibu kept rolling after the door swung shut, as reported by the Kansas City Star.
Deputies and Southern Stone County firefighters searched the shoreline until they located Lundgren. According to deputies, he resisted arrest during the recovery, and local reporting from KOMC says deputies suffered cuts and lacerations in the struggle before Lundgren was finally booked into jail.
Charges and Booking
Lundgren was booked at 2:22 a.m. on July 18 and is being held without bond, according to the Stone County Sheriff's Office. The inmate roster lists multiple counts, including resist arrest by fleeing, careless driving and several third-degree assault charges.
A Risky Move and Wider Context
Jumping from a highway bridge into deep water is the kind of move that can easily turn fatal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Table Rock Lake map shows deep channels near the Kimberling City crossing, and regional reporting earlier this month documented a case in which a man who jumped from a bridge while fleeing officers was later found dead, underscoring the risks, according to First Alert 4 (KMOV).
The Stone County Sheriff's Office shared the video clip on social media and wrote that "this was definitely a first and luckily he survived the fall," according to the Kansas City Star. Lundgren remains jailed as county authorities and prosecutors review the case.
