JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 24-year-old man is charged with eluding police, marijuana possession, DUI and other traffic infractions after ramming an SUV into a convenience store in northwest Jacksonville late Wednesday night.
The out-of-control SUV narrowly missed Tracy Green and her two 3-year-old sons.
"I honestly saw my life flash before me at that moment," Green said. "I mean, he almost hit us."
Police said the driver, Corey Jones, told officers after he was arrested that he was under the influence of ecstasy when he borrowed his girlfriend's car to go sell some marijuana.
According to the arrest report, two officers noticed a grey KIA SUV being driven recklessly in northwest Jacksonville about 11 p.m. and attempted to make a traffic stop. The vehicle instead sped up. The vehicle did stop on Bluehill Drive, when a passenger bailed out and ran before the SUV took off, running a red light when it turned onto Dunn Avenue, speeding up and weaving through traffic before getting onto Interstate 95 southbound, reaching 100 mph and nearly striking several cars before exiting onto Edgewood Avenue.
Police said the SUV then sped through a neighborhood at nearly 60 mph before getting back on Edgewood Avenue North and crashing into the Hop-In convenience store at the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Old Kings Road.
"I was working, and suddenly I heard a big bang. When I turned there was this driver inside the store and there were cops behind him. He was being chased by officers," said Hop-In store clerk Bereket Yohannes.
News4Jax obtained surveillance video from the store showing Green shields her two young children from danger as the SUV police said Jones was driving sped by.
Seconds later, the SUV crashes through the window and into the aisles of the convenience store. The video also shows officers coming in to take Jones into custody.
Police could be seen in the video rushing in to take the driver, later identified as Jones (booking photo shown), into custody. He was charged with fleeing a law enforcement officer, driving under the influence, running a red light, driving on a suspended license and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.
At a first-appearance hearing Friday afternoon, Jones appeared less than concerned about the charges against him. He laughed while the judge was addressing him, then said, "Free me," as he was being led out of the courtroom.
Jones was ordered held on $300,000 bond.
Yohannes said luckily, no one was injured and that the situation could have been worse.
"Lucky enough there were no customers around, otherwise, somebody would have been hurt. A lot of customers were just leaving the store. We're lucky no one was hurt," said Yohannes.