FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A Palm Coast man is behind bars after Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly says he personally pulled him over on Interstate 95 — while off duty — after clocking him at speeds up to 125 mph.
Sheriff Staly says he was traveling south on I-95 in his agency vehicle just south of the State Road 100 exit shortly before 5 p.m. Friday when a white 2016 Dodge Challenger with black racing stripes blew past him at a high rate of speed.
Recommended Videos
Using his vehicle’s certified speedometer, Staly says he paced the Challenger between 115 and 125 mph for nearly six miles. During that stretch, the driver repeatedly weaved across all three lanes of traffic, passing within three to four feet of the rear bumpers of slower-moving vehicles.
Staly activated his lights and siren, and the 22-year-old driver eventually pulled over on I-95 just south of Old Dixie Highway — in neighboring Volusia County.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the driver, who has no prior criminal history, told Sheriff Staly he had a final pilot’s exam scheduled for Saturday and hoped he would be released from jail in time.
“Driving 125 miles per hour and weaving through three lanes of traffic isn’t a mistake, it’s a decision to gamble with everyone else’s life, including the three passengers sitting in his own car,” Sheriff Staly said. “This wanna-be pilot was flying fast and low, but he wasn’t in an airplane and this wasn’t his final exam.”
The driver was arrested on charges of willful and wanton reckless driving and violation of Florida’s super speeder law.