STUART, FL – A 26-year old Stuart man died after the car he was driving plunged into a residential pond early this week. An on-duty sheriff’s deputy saw the vehicle drive past him at a high rate of speed. The deputy activated his lights, and made a turn in an attempt to initiate a traffic stop, but the vehicle turned onto Jackson Street in the residential community of Coral Gardens. The vehicle then drove through a cul-de-sac and into the pond.
The driver, 26-year old Timothy Joseph Brunning of Stuart died inside the vehicle. His passenger was able to free himself and swim to safety. The passenger told deputies, that the two were out prior to the crash, went home, then decided to go out again for a pizza. He said that Brunning was traveling at an excessive amount of speed, and he urged him to slow down just before the crash.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office along with the State Attorney’s Office is investigating.