FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A sheriff is never off duty.
Flagler County deputies said it was Sheriff Rick Staly who stopped a super speeder, all while he was on the way to dinner with his wife.
Around 5 p.m. on Friday, Staly was traveling south on I-95 in his unmarked agency vehicle, just south of the State Road 100 exit, when a white 2016 Dodge Challenger with black racing stripes flew past him at a high rate of speed, according to a news release.
The sheriff followed and tried to stop the weaving driver for about six miles, clocking him between speeds of 115 mph and 125 mph. The driver was weaving across all three lanes, even passing cars within three to four feet of their bumpers, deputies said.
The report goes on to say the sheriff eventually activated his lights and sirens just south of Old Dixie Highway in Volusia County, and pulled over the driver.
That driver was identified as 22-year-old Arul Nayak of Palm Coast.
Deputies said the vehicles Nayak had previously passed began honking their horns during the stop, appreciating that the driver had been stopped before anyone was hurt. Nayak told the sheriff he had a final pilot’s exam the next day, and hoped he would be out of jail in time.
“Driving 125 mph and weaving through three lanes of traffic isn’t a mistake; it’s a decision to gamble with everyone else’s life, including the three passengers sitting in his own car,” said Staly. “This wannabe pilot was flying fast and low, but he wasn’t in an airplane, and this wasn’t his final exam.”
Nayak was cited for willful and wanton reckless driving and violation of Florida’s super speeder law.
Because the stop happened in Volusia County, Nayak was arrested and booked into the Volusia County Jail.
He has been released on bond.
The Super Speeder law (HB 351) established a new criminal offense under state statutes last year: “dangerous excessive speeding.”
More specifically, the offense refers to situations where drivers:
- Go at least 50 mph over the speed limit
- Speed at 100 mph or more in a way that threatens the people or property around them
HB 351 also makes it so that excessive speeding is an arrestable offense. This is in addition to any applicable fines for speeding.