A man who ran naked into the Pacific Ocean after jumping out of a moving car while fleeing police in Redondo Beach was facing charges and undergoing a mental evaluation on Friday, officials said.
Police said the ordeal began with the man running a red light in front of Redondo Beach officers around 10 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of South Catalina Avenue and Emerald Street.
The man turned into Torrance Boulevard and then jumped out of the car as it rolled downhill toward the beach, Redondo Beach Police Sgt. Alan Beck said.
The vehicle mounted the curb and came to rest against a fence. The man's mother was inside the vehicle, Beck said.
The man ran across the beach and out into the water, shedding his clothing as he did so.
"Basically, he was trying to swim out to sea," Beck said, adding that the man was "completely naked" when he came out of the water.
Even with a life buoy around his chest, the man resisted repeated attempts to drag him aboard a boat by Harbor Patrol officers, one of whom spent more than 25 minutes in the water with the man.
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Lifeguards eventually got him out of the water by manhandling the 270-pound man onto a surfboard, and video from the scene showed him being dragged onto shore while wrapped in a yellow blanket.
No one was hurt during the incident, and the man's mother was described as being "OK," police said. The man was being checked for hypothermia Friday and will be facing a hit-and-run charge.
