LONGWOOD, Fla. – A police chase of a driver with a suspended license ended with the car crashing into a Longwood home on Thursday afternoon.
The crash occurred at Nina Place and Grant Street in Longwood just after 3:30 p.m.
Police said they were tracking the driver, Jonathan Pilgrim, who was driving with a suspended license and wearing an GPS ankle monitor, after they received reports of a man driving recklessly in a gold Mitsubishi Galant.
Once police tried to pull over Pilgrim, police said they backed off after Pilgrim started driving through the neighborhood at a high rate of speed when he sped over the grass and crashed into the home.
Police said Pilgrim ditched the car, took off his shirt and ran through the backyards of some homes, asking neighbors to give him a ride. He was caught four blocks away by K-9 units, according to police.
The homeowner tells Local 6 that police told him they were trying to stop the driver and broke off the chase. The homeowner said he was watching TV and heard a loud boom, then saw someone else's car in his garage.
"You can't imagine the shock when you open the door and you see carnage," said homeowner Gunner Johnson. "It's unbelievable."
Local 6 news helicopter Sky 6 flew over the scene as authorities investigated. The car appeared to have crashed into the garage, damaging the garage door and destroying the vehicles inside of it.
Check back for more on this developing story.