ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Two people were arrested after a chase that started in Flagler County led to a crash in St. Johns County on Sunday, authorities said.
According to an arrest report, the incident began Sunday morning in the area of the Red Roof Inn on Kingswood Drive off Old Kings Drive in Flagler County and ended when the vehicle being pursued crashed on U.S. 1 at Wildwood Drive in St. Johns County.
The report shows a deputy had been patrolling the hotel parking lot around 9:30 a.m. and saw a vehicle with a tag that was associated with a prior drug-related incident in Flagler County. Around 11:30 a.m., the deputy said, a man and a woman exited the hotel and went to the vehicle, with the woman sitting down in the passenger seat and the man getting into the driver seat.
The deputy said the man failed to stop at the stop sign while exiting the parking lot and ran the stop sign at Kingswood Drive entering Old Kings Drive. According to the report, the deputy turned on the emergency lights, and the vehicle initially went to pull over but then sped off. That’s when the deputy also turned on the emergency sirens.
According to the report, the vehicle went through a CVS Pharmacy parking lot and exited onto Palm Coast Parkway, running another stop sign and traveling at speeds of 70-80 mph. The report noted that the vehicle ran a red light, and, at one point, the deputy tried to deploy stop sticks, but the vehicle evaded them.
Then, according to the report, the vehicle almost rammed a K-9 deputy’s vehicle and continued to travel west on Palm Coast Parkway.
“Multiple units with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deployed stop sticks at various locations, but the vehicle was driving in an erratic manner and units were unsuccessful,” the report said.
The report shows a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office sergeant verified there was probable cause for aggravated assault on law enforcement, at which time the sergeant advised the pursuit was authorized and the deputy followed the vehicle onto northbound Interstate 95, where the vehicle got off at U.S. 1 in St. Johns County. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said it would assist with the pursuit. While chasing the vehicle south on US-1, the vehicle reached speeds over 100 mph, ran red lights and ran other vehicles off the road, according to the report.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office eventually took the lead in the pursuit and tried to deploy stop sticks at multiple locations.
The vehicle then crashed at on U.S. 1 at Wildwood Drive.
According to the report, the driver exited the vehicle, ran toward a parking lot, approached another vehicle that was occupied by a man and tried to take that vehicle. Deputies said they were able to block in that vehicle and take the suspect into custody.
The report shows he was transported to Flagler Hospital to be medically cleared and then booked into the St. Johns County jail and charged by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office with aggravated fleeing, aggravated assault on law enforcement and driving while license was revoked.
The passenger of the suspect vehicle was placed under arrest by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office for resisting, according to the report.
A woman who said she witnessed the crash sent News4Jax this statement: “I was probably 2 or 3 cars from the light coming to a stop, when I heard a huge crash, looked over and saw cars flying. I saw a girl…get out of the white car and the driver got out and started running. The white car hit the red car.”
People who live near the area said drivers speed through the intersection often and they want to see more law enforcement officers. Another resident said they see accidents all the time.