DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Deltona man was facing several charges after a string of crimes that started with attacking his wife outside a strip club and ended when he nearly killed himself by jumping off a bridge, police said.
Giovanni Calderon Santiago, 25, was seriously injured when he was arrested after pulling himself from water under Seabreeze Bridge.
At about 2:49 a.m. Saturday, Timothy Salan flagged down an officer in Daytona Beach, saying he’d been punched while intervening in a domestic dispute outside Molly Brown’s Gentlemen’s Club, a Daytona Beach police report said.
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Salan told officers he saw Santiago grab a woman by the hair, throw her to the ground and punch her in the face several times as he drove by, the report said.
The woman was later identified as Santiago’s wife, Theresa Santiago.
“He immediately exited his vehicle and ran over to (Giovanni Santiago), attempting to get him off of (the victim),” the report said.
Salan told officers that Giovanni Santiago punched him, threw him the ground and punched him again, only ending the attack and fleeing the scene when Salan yelled for help.
While police were investigating outside the strip club, Giovanni Santiago returned to the scene but ran away again when he was approached by officers, the report said.
Santiago broke into a car as he fled from a uniformed officer and refused to get out when police confronted him with guns drawn, the report said.
Santiago got the car started and as he drove away, he tried to hit the officer confronting him, investigators said.
The officer was able to jump out of the way and Santiago drove south on Wild Olive Boulevard and then west over the Seabreeze Bridge, the report said.
Along the way, he hit three other cars, seriously injuring one person, police said.
Santiago fled from the wrecked car and jumped over the bridge railing, falling into the water below, the report said.
He was caught and taken into custody as he got out of the river near Beach Street, officers said.
Santiago was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in critical condition.
He has since been released from the hospital.
Santiago was being held without bond at the Volusia County Jail on charges of aggravated assault, two counts of battery, refusing to stop after ordered, three counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving damage, and one count of leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury.
Theresa Santiago repeatedly told officers that she had not been attacked and that she didn’t know Giovanni Santiago, who was determined to be her husband.
Cox Media Group
