A North Myrtle Beach police officer was transported to the Grand Strand Medical Center on Friday night after chasing after a suspect into the lake next to a checkpoint at Robert Edge Parkway and South Carolina Hwy 31.
Pat Dowling, North Myrtle Beach Police Department’s Public Information Officer, says during a 15th Circuit Law Enforcement Network checkpoint, an officer pulled a silver 1999 Honda Accord over. The officer noticed the car’s registration didn’t belong to the vehicle and an open container of beer in the car.
The driver, identified by police as 33-year-old Juan Alejo Alvarado of Myrtle Beach, also gave officers a false name and did not have a driver’s license, according to Dowling.
Dowling says while the officer was writing Alvarado a citation, Alvarado took off running across the highway and jumped into a lake. Officers told the suspect multiple times to stop and to get out of the lake, but the Alvarado kept swimming toward the center.
Officers then circled around the lake to attempt to take Alvarado into custody. Once in the center of the lake, the suspect began bobbing up and down and appeared to be struggling, according to Dowling.
While waiting for fire and rescue to arrive, Dowling says two officers swam out to Alvarado without getting too close, and were told to wait until it was immediately necessary for them to intervene.
He says the two officers became tired and began to swim back to shore, but that one of the officers began to struggle causing a third officer to enter the water to help.
Overwhelmed, the struggling officer pushed the third officer underwater, causing the third officer to swim away and move back to shore. A fourth officer then swam out to try to help, right as fire and rescue personnel arrived.
They were able to get the officer safely to shore while Alvarado swam to the opposite side of the lake. Officers created a perimeter around the lake and were able to take Alvarado into custody.
Everyone who entered the lake during the incident were assessed by EMS personnel and the rescued officer was taken to Grand Strand Medical Center for further treatment.
Alvarado’s charges include driving without a license for a 2nd offense, resisting arrest, and open container of beer or wine in a motor vehicle.
