SANFORD, Fla. – A driver who sped away from troopers Thursday night is accused of hitting a street sign, bailing out of his car and entering a home, where he was eventually caught in the bathroom, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The situation started about 8:30 p.m. when a trooper spotted a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe heading south on State Road 417. The driver was traveling at more than 100 mph, the FHP said, so the trooper pulled him over, the FHP said.
The man, identified as Joshua Michael Gonzalez, 25, of Orlando, gave the trooper a fake name, Lt. Kim Montes said.
As the trooper was trying to verify the driver’s identity, Gonzalez sped off, according to Montes.
Gonzalez exited SR 417 at mile marker 49 and crashed into a yield sign, she said. The vehicle then became disabled on Airport Boulevard, and Gonzalez ran away from the scene, Montes said.
Talia Hollis, 17, said she saw Gonzalez speeding on the highway and he almost hit her.
"I thought he hit my car so I just stopped and got really frantic and was shaking and I didn't know what to do," Hollis said.
Officers with the Sanford Police Department showed up to assist the FHP, and they said they found Gonzalez in the bathroom of an abandoned house. He was arrested at the home.
In the man’s car, investigators found fraudulent credit cards and forms of identification.
"We think that's part of the reason he ran. Obviously, we are still investigating the fraudulent ID cards, fraudulent, or stolen credit cards," Montes said.
Montes said Gonzalez had been driving on a revoked license. His license was taken away for fleeing from law enforcement officials in 2016.
He faces several charges, including fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer at a high speed, burglary of an unoccupied home and hit-and-run.