Police: Robbery suspect drives into lake, tries to swim away

ST. ALBANS, Vt. – Authorities say a man on the run from police in Vermont drove into a lake in an attempt to escape.

WCAX-TV reports police encountered 38-year-old Stephen Salyer, of Enosburgh, while searching for a suspect in an armed robbery of a local gas station on Saturday.

The store clerk saw the robber was wearing an ankle monitor, and police traced it to a car travelling through Berkshire.

Police say Salyer led officers on a 20-mile (32-kilometre) chase into St. Albans, where he drove onto a dock and into Lake Champlain. They say Salyer got out of the car and tried to swim away before officers caught him on an adjacent dock.

Police pulled the car from the lake.

Salyer faces several charges. He’s hospitalized for treatment of injuries and can’t be reached for comment. It’s unknown if he has an attorney.

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Information from: WCAX-TV, http://www.wcax.com