Pursuit of a stolen vehicle which began in Milton ended with a traffic crash in Navarre on Monday. The individual, who was responsible for fleeing authorities of both the Florida Highway Patrol and Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office was listed in serious condition following the incident.
According to a FHP press release, the incident began before 10 a.m. when a FHP Trooper attempted to make traffic stop on a Ford F-150 pickup truck which was pulling a trailer. The vehicle was exiting the Interstate 10 westbound ramp. FHP ran the trailer tag which came back as stolen. “The driver came to stop and exited the vehicle,” The FHP media release said. “The driver then returned to the vehicle and fled the scene.”
While attempting to pull the vehicle over, FHP reports the driver began throwing items out of the vehicle after taking a turn onto Nichols Lake Road. The truck then came to a dead end on Swamp Creek Lane, where the suspect’s vehicle struck tree after losing control. After the collision, the suspect fled on foot into a wooded area only to exit the neighborhood in a stolen vehicle.
“The suspect crashed the stolen vehicle through a metal gate, collided with an unoccupied FHP patrol unit and nearly ran several officers off the roadway,” The FHP report stated.
With SRSO deputies in pursuit, the suspect then headed southbound on Highway 87. According to the sheriff’s office, pursuing deputies terminated the pursuit due the reckless manner the suspect was driving. The suspect’s fleeing came to an end on East Bay Boulevard when their west bound vehicle struck another vehicle heading east on the roadway. The incident caused the suspect’s vehicle to overturn several times before coming to rest on the side of the roadway.
The identity of the suspect is pending upon further investigation.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pursuit of stolen vehicle ends with crash