High-Speed Chase Ends In Wreck On I-95

Northbound Traffic Blocked More Than 2 Hours

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A high-speed pursuit of an armed robbery suspect that began on the Westside ended with a wreck on Interstate 95 at Golfair Boulevard that blocked all three northbound lanes for more than two hours.

The suspect was apprehended just after he bailed out of his car, but a police officer was injured in the process.

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Police responding to the robbery of a Food Lion grocery on West Beaver Street about 10 a.m. began following a fleeing car. The pursuit continued over Lane and Edgewood avenues at speeds of up to 90 mph.

Less than 15 minutes after it began, the chase ended when the suspect vehicle crashed into the retaining wall on I-95 northbound. The suspect got out to run, but officers were there to take him into custody.

As the suspect was apprehended, a police car ran into one of the officers.

Channel 4's Dan Leveton reported that Officer Chris Hancock, 36, suffered a leg injury. He was conscious and smiling as he was transported to a hospital, where he was treated and released.

"Officer Hancock was out doing his job, he was responding to the call," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said. "(He) saw an opportunity to nab the suspect as he was coming out of the car -- in so doing, he was injured."

The suspect was being questioned at police headquarters, then booked into the Duval County jail. Investigators are not releasing his name or photograph while they look into whether he could be a suspect in other area robberies.

In addition to the suspect's car, two JSO cruisers were damaged in the incident.

All three northbound lanes remained blocked until 12:29 p.m.. Southbound traffic was initially slowed because of police activity that closed one lane, but that has since returned to normal.

Police said the incident began about 9:45 a.m. with a hold-up of a Food Lion grocery store on West Beaver Street.

"They got robbed and she did what she was supposed to do and he fired two shots," said Gred Coley, the fiance of one of the clerks in the store. "The first thing I asked her was she OK, and she said 'yeah.'"

As robbery detectives investigated that robbery and shooting, crime-scene technicians went through the wreckage of the suspect's car on I-95 looking for a weapon an other evidence.

Police said they were thankful there were no other accidents or injuries over the course of the 12-mile chase.