A pursuit that began in West Baton Rouge Parish ended in the University Lake on Tuesday afternoon as a white Nissan Sentra
skidded off the road and flipped into the lake on West Lakeshore Drive in front of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house.
The unidentified male driver was rescued and transported to a hospital in handcuffs.
Construction management freshman Jacob Nici said he was riding down sorority row with a friend when the crash occurred. After his friend pulled his truck over, Nici saw police struggling to free the man and jumped into the lake
to assist.
“I could tell he was going to need help,” Nici said. “Once we were in the water, the glass wouldn’t break so I tried to get it from the back seat through the trunk. The officer got his hand in the window — it was rolled down a little bit — broke it from there and pulled the guy out through the passenger window.”
Nici said he believed the car was traveling faster than the 20 mph speed limit on sorority row and couldn’t recall how long he or the officer he was assisting were in the lake.
LSU Police Department detective John Melchior confirmed the chase began in West Baton Rouge Parish, but couldn’t say whether the car or victim was involved in a crime. An unidentified police official told The Daily Reveille the man fled a store in WBR Parish, which instigated the chase.
Vehicles from the West Baton Rouge Parish Police Department, East Baton Rouge Parish Police Department, Louisiana State Police and LSUPD were all present at the scene.
Mass communication junior Erika Schroeder also witnessed the crash from the Kappa Alpha Theta house. She said the car was being chased by at least one police car before the car hopped the curb and flipped into the lake.
After the crash, Schroeder said the struggle to rescue the man was evident.
“I think [the car was submerged] for like three or four minutes,” Schroeder said. “I thought he was dead.”
UPDATE: 
A pursuit that began in West Baton Rouge Parish ended in the University Lake Tuesday afternoon as a white Nissan Sentra skidded off the road and flipped into the lake on West Lakeshore Drive in front of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house.
The unidentified male was rescued and transported to a hospital in handcuffs.
Construction management freshman Jacob Nici said he was riding down sorority row with a friend when the crash occurred. After his friend pulled the truck over, Nici saw police struggling to free the man from the car and jumped into the lake to assist.
“I could tell he was going to need help,” Nici said. “Once we were in the water, the glass wouldn’t break so I tried to get it from the back seat through the trunk. The officer got his hand in the window — it was rolled down a little bit — broke it from there and pulled the guy out through the passenger window.”
Nici noted the car was traveling well over the 20 mph speed limit on sorority row and couldn’t recall how long he or the officer he was assisting were in the lake.
LSU Police Department detective John Melchior confirmed the chase began in West Baton Rouge Parish, but couldn’t say whether the car or victim was involved in a crime. An unidentified police official told The Daily Reveille the man fled a store in WBR Parish, which instigated the chase.
Vehicles from the West Baton Rouge Parish Police Department, East Baton Rouge Parish Police Department , Louisiana State Police and LSUPD were all present at the scene.
Mass communication junior Erika Schroeder also witnessed the crash from the Kappa Alpha Theta house. She said the car was being chased by at least one police car before the car hopped the curb and flipped into the lake.
After the crash, Schroeder said the struggle to rescue the man was evident.
“I think [the car was submerged] for like three or four minutes,” Schroeder said. “I thought he was dead.”
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Around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, a car flipped into the University Lake near West Lakeshore Drive. 
One victim was carried away from the scene on a stretcher. 
Follow The Daily Reveille for more updates. 

Gallery • 2 Photos

Chandler Rome

A car flipped into the University Lake Tuesday around 6 p.m. Witnesses say the car was being chased by a police car