A Saturday morning accident in Waldo killed two people and injured two others after they attempted to evade a pursuing Florida Highway Patrol car.
According to an Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR) press release, the crash occurred just after 1 a.m. near Cole Street.
“Upon arrival crews found a single vehicle, on its side, wrapped around a concrete utility pole,” ACFR reported. “They rapidly assessed the scene, called for additional resources, began patient care and extrication.”
It took crews more than 90 minutes to extricate the passengers. Two were pronounced deceased on the scene, while two others were transported to UF Health Shands in Gainesville for treatment, according to ACFR.
ACFR did not immediately release information about the four victims in the vehicle, including whether or not they were wearing seatbelts, but District Chief Joe Cox told Mainstreet all four were males who appeared to be in their 20s.
At 6:26 p.m. Saturday, Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) released additional information about the crash, saying it received an assistance request from the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office “as they pursued a recently stolen Honda CRV from Alachua County.”
“A State Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol joined the pursuit and identified that some of the occupants appeared to be wearing ski masks,” the FHP report said.
According to FHP, the vehicle exited U.S. 301 and began traveling west on State Road 24 (SR-24) in the Waldo area.
“The Trooper made intentional contact with the Honda, causing it to decelerate,” the FHP release said. “The Trooper used the break in speed to perform a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT maneuver) on the fleeing Honda to stop the threat created by the fleeing suspect. The Honda subsequently rolled over before making contact with a cement pole.”
FHP reported a joint criminal investigation is ongoing and includes the Office of the State Attorney-15th Circuit, the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, and FHP.
“Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this incident,” the FHP release said. “Additional information will be released when available.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information from Florida Highway Patrol.
This is horrible and I’m so sad for the families.
I seem to remember another reason poles next to streets were made of wood.
I’d like to add: Use of a PIT maneuver should have some additional consideration, especially WHERE they’re used. From the sound of it, these fatalities were avoidable.
They were avoidable . They could have stopped! 2 had ankle monitors on , 3 had active arrest warrants , there were ski masks and firearms in the car . Do the math .
That didn’t warrant a death sentence.
This is sad i think they could have avoided this..The chase should have been called off.I know there are laws but these kids were young and there were other ways they could have been caught other than a high speed chase
Please elaborate ! How do you stop idiots driving at high speeds ? Do you just let them go , until they run a stop sign or red light and kill an innocent third party ?
The fatalities were avoidable. All the driver had to do was pull over when the officer turned on the pretty flashing lights.
Or just not steal cars. One might wonder what other things the brothers were up to at such a young age. Does the FHP have stop sticks?
I don’t feel sorry for these thieves. I don’t know who wants people stealing vehicles and wearing ski masks traveling through their community. They fought the law and the law won ….