ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Video exclusively obtained by News 6 appears to show an Orange County deputy sheriff running a motorist off the road.
Dash camera video shows the close call Ivan Schiffino experienced around 10 a.m. Saturday morning, while driving home from work at Walt Disney World.
The dash camera video, provided by Schiffino, appears to show the Orange County Sheriff’s Office vehicle cut across a painted divider, which is the space between merge lanes and travel lanes, while merging from I-4 onto World Center Drive without using a turn signal.
“The striped area you see near exits is called a gore area, and it’s not a lane you can drive in,” according to News 6 Traffic Safety Expert Steve Montiero.
Montiero cited Florida Statute 316.089.
“You have to stay in a real lane, and those stripes aren’t one. They’re there to separate traffic and keep things safe. When you cut through it at the last second to make an exit, it catches other drivers off guard and can cause crashes. You can get a ticket for it,” said Montiero.
[WATCH: Trooper Steve on Patrol explains things you may want to know on the road]
Schiffino told News 6 the deputy nearly hit him.
“If I would have been the one doing that, I probably would end up with reckless driving, probably in jail,” Schiffino told News 6. “It’s hard. I don’t know if he had an emergency to go to, but yeah, he was driving recklessly.”
Schiffino’s dash camera video shows both vehicles driving into the grassy median. The video appears to show the deputy make a U-turn, activate the patrol vehicle lights, then leave the scene without checking on Schiffino.
“I was expecting him to stop, but he put his lights on and left, and I wasn’t going to chase him,” Schiffino said.
He claimed the deputy acknowledged him, even making eye contact.
“He did something with his hand, but I’m not 100 percent sure,” Schiffino said.
He told News 6 driving into the median caused some minor damage to the front of his car, but he is glad no one got hurt.
“If I didn’t have a dash cam and I hit him, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been nice for me in court,” Schiffino said.
Over the past three days, News 6 has repeatedly tried to get answers from Orange County Sheriff John Mina. His agency has not explained whether that deputy was responding to an emergency call. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has not said if it is investigating the matter.