A stolen car, an attempted carjacking, an armed carjacking and an escape attempt in a canal end in 2 arrests

Two suspects were arrested Wednesday afternoon, one of them in his underwear, after they sped through Broward County in a stolen car, tried but failed to carjack a driver at gunpoint and then successfully carjacked another driver before officers crashed into them, authorities said.

The crime spree started when a white Lexus was stolen in Miami-Dade County. By 2 p.m., the driver was speeding through Broward on Florida’s Turnpike in the stolen car, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

As police chased the Lexus, the suspects attempted to carjack a driver in Broward County. One of the suspects got out of the Lexus with a gun and tried to steal a gray car, but the driver did not open the doors, said Claudinne Caro, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

The suspect who was riding in the Lexus’s passenger seat ran back to the stolen car with gun in hand, and the two again took off, live video obtained by WSVN-Ch. 7 showed.

Shortly after, the driver of the stolen Lexus jumped out of the car holding a gun and approached a Tesla driver on Commercial Boulevard, gripping the Tesla driver by his hand and pushing him away, Ch. 7 video showed. The Tesla driver backed away from his car with his hands in the air.

Ch. 7 video showed the Tesla reversing in an attempt to continue fleeing, but deputies then caught up with the suspects. Immediately after the Tesla carjacking, officers crashed into it to stop them, the Sheriff’s Office said.

But the chase still wasn’t over. Both of the suspects ran, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Sheriff’s Office Violence Intervention Proactive Enforcement Response deputies arrested one as the other tried to flee by swimming through a canal, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Live video obtained by WPLG- Ch. 10 showed the man quickly taking off his shoes on the canal bank before swimming across and crawling out of the water and into a backyard. He appeared to bend over to catch his breath before running again.

The man ran into a neighborhood and into a home with people inside in the 4900 block of Northwest 54th Street in Tamarac, the Sheriff’s Office said. The residents escaped, and deputies surrounded the home. The suspect surrendered shortly after.

The Sheriff’s Office did not release the suspects’ identities. Tamarac Fire Rescue took one of them to a local hospital “as a precaution,” the Sheriff’s Office said. It is not clear whether the men were injured.

Robbery Unit detectives will lead the investigation of the armed carjacking, attempted armed carjacking and aggravated fleeing and eluding that happened in Broward County, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Both directions of Commercial Boulevard between the Turnpike and Rock Island Road were closed as of about 4 p.m. as detectives investigated.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Angie DiMichele can be reached at adimichele@sunsentinel.com, 754-971-0194 and on Twitter @angdimi.