FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Newly-released dash camera video shows the moment a suspect crashed head-on into a 71-year-old woman’s car while trying to get away from deputies.
On Tuesday, deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office spotted a gray Chevrolet Suburban connected to several burglaries in St. Johns County.
“They actually put out a BOLO, which means ‘be on the lookout’ for a complete description of the vehicle. The vehicle was spotted somewhere off Old Kings Highway in the north end of town,” said Mark Strobridge, chief of staff at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said deputies started their pursuit and followed the SUV as it sped down I-95 and then Old Dixie Highway.
“Our deputies got behind it on I-95 as they traveled at a high rate of speed and watched the vehicle weave into traffic and then exit at Old Dixie Highway, where stop sticks were deployed.”
The stop sticks did not slow down the suspects’ vehicle, because the sheriff’s office said it had anti-deflating tires. The dash camera video shows the SUV then sideswipe a deputy’s car during the chase as it headed south on U.S. 1
“As they approach the intersection of I-95 and U.S. 1, the car went underneath the overpass and made a left-hand turn back to the north,” said Strobridge. “The car actually drove northbound on the exit ramp, which would be the southbound exit ramp of U.S. 1, head-on into another vehicle.”
Investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol said a 71-year-old woman from Ormond Beach was killed.
“Let’s be clear about this whole thing. The actions of those criminals that day are what caused this event,” said Strobridge. “It was not anything else except their poor choices that they made along the way that actually killed an innocent bystander.”
News 6 asked the department about its pursuit policy and what factors deputies must consider when they choose to continue chasing a suspect in a public area. Strobridge said they are going to be doing a complete and full review of the event.
“It’s our job to protect the public as best we can, and Sheriff Staley always mandates to us that it’s about helping the citizens remain safe within our community,” said Strobridge. “We catch a lot of bad guys, and in every situation where we can de-escalate and make it a safer public, we are going to do that.”
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office provided a copy of the department’s pursuit policy, which states deputies are “authorized to engage in a vehicle apprehension in an effort to detain suspects who demonstrate violence or pose an immediate specific continuing threat to public safety.”
That includes “reasonable belief” that a suspect was involved in a felony, such as burglary.
The policy also outlines when deputies should choose to end a pursuit, including the property, lives of the public, law enforcement officers, and suspects that may be at risk.
“Our policy says that we’re going to look at all the factors,” said Strobridge. “Road conditions, weather conditions, how recklessly the individual is driving — all of those things become factors and part of the process.”
Strobridge said by the time deputies got to the intersection by I-95 and U.S. 1, the suspects’ SUV was already on the on-ramp and had already collided with the woman’s car.
When asked if the sheriff’s office anticipates any changes being made to their policy as a result of this case, Strobridge said. “We have to really look at all the facts and everything involved. What’s very important is to remember that those actions resulted in the death of an innocent person, and those actions were all 100% created by those individuals who have now been charged with murder as a result of what they’re doing.”
Strobridge also told our News 6 crew, “There’s radio traffic going on. There’s body cam. There are decisions that are being made by different individuals out there that we have to really drill down deeply to see what we could do better. And we will do what is necessary to do it better next time.”