Man Drove Into Buffalo Creek Golf Course Pond, Hid From Deputies In Brush: Manatee Sheriff

PALMETTO, FL — A driver trying to evade deputies drove his truck into a golf course pond early Thursday morning and hid from them in the water, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office shared in a Facebook post.

Around 1 a.m., deputies saw a truck without its headlights on driving on the wrong side of Harrison Ranch Boulevard. When they tried to pull him over, he drove off, the sheriff’s office said.

MCSO’s Aviation Unit responded and followed the truck as it ran through a fence at the Buffalo Creek Golf Course, then drove into a shallow pond.

The driver, William Ballard, 42, got out of his truck and waded through the water into nearby brush and trees to hide from deputies. The Aviation Unit kept watch overhead, though, and directed deputies on the ground to where he was hiding, MCSO said.

Ballard said he was fleeing because he thought he had a warrant for his arrest. While he didn’t have an active warrant, he was driving with a suspended license, the sheriff’s office said.

He faces a felony charge of fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer at high speed.

Watch the Aviation Unit’s video of the chase and Ballard being taken into custody: