Inmate jumps from jail roof and attempts hospital escape

TAVARES, Fla. (FOX 35 Orlando) - Lake County deputies are investigating why an inmate jumped from the top of the county jail and then attempted to escaped while at the hospital for treatment.

Deputies say 25-year-old inmate Michael McQueen jumped off the top tier of the Lake County Detention Center.

"He pretty much face planted on the floor below so it was a legitimate attempt to hurt himself," said Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesperson John Herrell.

After the 12-foot leap, deputies took McQueen to Central Florida Hospital in Sanford for treatment, where he had a CT scan as he wore his shackles.  

"So the two guards were asked to step outside the room, so that they could perform the CT scan. Actually the room that he was in was locked," Herrell explained.

But during that exam, someone came into the room.  He saw that as an opportunity to try and flee, Herrell said, but since he was in shackles, he wasn't able to get very far.  Deputies say a Sanford police officer tackled him and used his taser.   Investigators aren't sure why McQueen would jump in the first place.

"Either he was attempting suicide or attempting to get to a hospital in hopes of maybe finding another way out. We don't really know," Herrell said.

McQueen was originally charged with trafficking in stolen property and defrauding an pawn shop owner. He now faces escape and resisting arrest charges