Domestic violence suspect slammed cruiser, drove truck off ferry ramp into water

A man attempting to flee police on Martha’s Vineyard Thursday night rammed his truck into a cop cruiser and then drove off a ferry ramp into the ocean, according to Oak Bluff police.

The suspect, who police did not name, was wanted in connection to a domestic violence incident earlier Thursday.

Oak Bluff Sgt. Christopher Wiggin noticed the suspect’s Ford F-250 pickup truck and attempted a traffic stop on Masonic Avenue, but the driver didn’t pull over, according to the statement.

Eventually, the truck stopped, and Wiggins put his cruiser in park. But the suspect accelerated his truck in reverse and rammed into the front of the cruiser, causing significant damage, according to police. 

Officials said the truck then took off toward Seaview Avenue “at a high rate of speed,” but Wiggins had trouble following due to the damage to his cruiser.

The officer was able to “limp it along and keep the truck in his line of sight,” police said. Wiggins then witnessed the truck turn onto the gated ramp of the Steamship Authority Dock at the corner of Seaview Avenue and Oak Bluffs, according to the statement.

Within moments, the pickup truck launched off the ferry ramp and into the water, according to police. Officials said the driver was spotted swimming away from the scene and climbed a ladder onto a large piling.

State police, the Oak Bluffs Fire Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard responded and took a police boat out to the area. The suspect climbed down a ladder onto the vessel, where he was taken into custody and transported to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for minor hand injuries he received during self-extrication from the truck, according to the statement. 

Police said they wouldn’t identify the man because the incident is being treated as a domestic violence case, and state law prohibits them from naming him.

He faces multiple charges, including two counts of assault and battery on a family or household member and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (the car). Other charges include disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, vandalism, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, refusing to stop for police, trespassing with a motor vehicle, and speeding, according to Oak Bluff police.

Officials said the suspect was released from the hospital Thursday evening and booked into the Dukes County Jail. He was arraigned Friday afternoon in the Edgartown District Court.

The pickup truck was reportedly still in the water Friday near the Steamship Authority pier as crews waited for weather conditions to improve, according to the statement.