PALATKA, Fla. – A block party meant to bring something positive to a Palatka neighborhood turned violent Saturday night when investigators said a man drove a pickup truck into the crowd, injuring multiple people.
A woman sitting under a tent with her family at a block party said she was pinned beneath a pickup truck Saturday night and believes she only survived because police shot the driver, identified as 36-year-old Lazayeus Bartley.
“If they wouldn’t have shot him, I think I would have been dead,” the woman told News4JAX exclusively.
Neighbors said the block party has been a community tradition for four years. The night started with food, music, and families coming together — until witnesses said Bartley got into an altercation, drove into the crowd, struck a car, circled back, and drove through the gathering again.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she was sitting under a tent with family when she heard tires squealing.
“We was just talking and something, and then all of a sudden, we heard something, tire squealing, and we was running, and I got hit, and I was pinned under the truck,” she said.
She said the driver never let off the accelerator.
“He was steadily hitting the gas, the revving up, and it was steadily scooting me into a tree,” she said.
She told News4Jax she managed to pull herself out from under the truck, get up, and walk to her car. Then, she drove herself to the hospital. But the pain was severe, and she said the area had been placed on lockdown by the time she arrived.
“I was in so much pain, and I didn’t know what it was,” she said.
Doctors discovered the extent of her injuries at the hospital.
“They were surprised I was able to walk because my C7 was broken to my spine. I got several bank fractures,” she said.
She is now in a full-body brace from her neck to her waist and cannot bend, lift, or twist. She said she is dependent on her family to help her recover.
As of the report, she was still hospitalized and hoping to go home soon.
Charles, a resident who was at the party, also described watching the chaos unfold from just steps away.
“He got mad and went off and came around that way, hit a car, and came back,” Charles said.
Charles said his granddaughter was set up near the area where the truck came through.
“All of a sudden, that truck came. I didn’t see the truck,” he said.
She was hit during the chaos. Charles said she suffered what he believes is a broken leg and neck pain, and was on crutches when he last spoke with her. He said she is expected to be okay.
When the truck came through a second time, Charles said he grabbed a chair and told everyone around him to get inside.
Despite everything, the pinned woman said she was grateful to be alive.
“Yes, I’m here to see another day,” she said.
Bartley was released from the hospital and booked into the Clay County jail. He has since been transferred to the Putnam County jail.
He now faces two counts of aggravated battery and one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding with injuries, with additional charges pending.