BY DAN HILDEBRAN
The Florida Highway Patrol said two people died after the car they were in crashed in Waldo during a high-speed pursuit in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 20.
FHP said the pursuit of the Honda CR-V began in Bradford County and ended in Waldo shortly after the stolen vehicle left U.S. 301 onto State Road 24 within the Alachua County town.
In a news release, the state agency said the trooper chasing the Honda observed that the four occupants were wearing ski masks, and that the trooper performed a precision immobilization technique, commonly known as a PIT maneuver.
After the trooper used his vehicle to strike the Honda, the CR-V rolled over and hit a cement pole. One occupant was ejected and died at the scene. A second occupant died later at a hospital.
Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith said a license plate reader detected the stolen SUV within the county, and deputies initiated a pursuit.
“We have those license plate readers discreetly placed all over the county,” he said, “and it runs your tag as you go past it. This car came back as a hit that it was stolen.
The sheriff added that once the stolen car entered Alachua County, his officers allowed FHP to take over the pursuit, with his deputies following at a distance in case their assistance was needed.
Smith said that as far as he could see, the trooper’s actions were “textbook.” He added, however, that the loss of life is regrettable.
“It’s just sad for any young life,” he said. “Everybody is loved, and you hate to see that kind of outcome, but apparently, they felt they had nothing to lose. They weren’t stopping for anything. Thank goodness, at that time of night, there wasn’t much traffic.”
