DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A man accused of trying to flee after rear-ending a motorcycle in Daytona Beach late Friday was rescued from a pond that he crashed into soon after, according to police.
Cale Harding, 37, faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash with injuries, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement and aggravated assault on a law-enforcement officer, records show.
Harding was driving a Dodge Challenger that a Daytona Beach police officer reportedly saw rear-end a Harley-Davidson just before midnight Oct. 17 at a westbound red light on West International Speedway Boulevard (U.S. 92), according to his arrest affidavit. The motorcycle remained upright and neither of its two occupants were ejected, but the Challenger then made a U-turn, prompting the officer to turn on their lights and sirens, the affidavit states.
The officer followed the Challenger into the parking lot on the side of a business in the 900 block of U.S. 92, where they got out and attempted to perform a traffic stop, police said. Harding is accused of reversing and driving toward the officer, missing them and striking the front bumper of the police vehicle before taking off southbound on North Adams Street, according to the affidavit.
After the officer turned their lights off and got onto southbound Adams Street, they saw several pieces of FPL equipment explode on overhead power lines, the affidavit states. Reaching Maley Street, the officer reportedly saw the Challenger in the middle of a retention pond with Harding in the driver’s seat.
Body-worn camera video shared by the Daytona Beach Police Department shows Harding attempting to swim to shore.
“Do you know how to swim?” the officer asks.
“I can try,” Harding replies.
“That’s not my question, it’s a yes or no. Do you know how to swim?” the officer repeats.
“It’s a medium,” Harding replies.
“‘It’s a medium?’ Great,” the officer says.
After setting off from the sinking car and appearing to struggle, Harding was met in the water by first responders, pulled back to land and arrested.
It was determined that Harding had reached the end of Adams Street in the Challenger and drove it through a city fence, damaging about 60 feet of it and an FPL utility pole before plunging into the pond.
Harding was hospitalized for treatment of injuries suffered during the incident, including a large laceration to his forehead, police said, adding he was issued citations for careless driving and fleeing and eluding after a crash with property damage.
The motorcycle rider reported no injuries while his passenger was treated for a minor injury to the right leg, the report states.
Watch the footage in the video player at the top of this story.
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