Drugs and Fleeing from FHP is a Terrible Idea

n March 22, 2024, I, Trooper Sapp of the Florida Highway Patrol, was traveling north on I-75 near mile marker 316 in my duly marked Florida Highway Patrol vehicle within Sumter County, Florida.

While traveling north in the center lane, I observed a white Honda sports utility vehicle overtaking me at a high rate of speed. I also noticed that the vehicle's high beam lights were activated and the windshield wipers were in operation. The weather conditions were clear at the time, so the use of windshield wipers and high beams was unconventional. I then began to see the vehicle travel in a reckless manner. The vehicle began swerving from lane to lane while traveling at a high rate of speed. The vehicle began driving directly behind my patrol car at an extremely close distance. I activated my in-car camera to capture these events.

The vehicle then began driving on the right shoulder, cut across all northbound travel lanes, and then accelerated onto the left shoulder. I overtook the vehicle and activated the emergency equipment on my marked patrol car, including lights and sirens. Initially, the vehicle slowed on the left shoulder but then accelerated aggressively to flee the traffic stop. At this time, I utilized my in-car radio to relay the events unfolding. I observed the attached Florida license plate of QXLW26. The vehicle then used the official U-turn at mile marker 318 in the median of I-75. The vehicle made a dangerous turn directly in front of southbound traffic, nearly causing a catastrophic collision. I continued to pursue the vehicle, now traveling south on I-75. I paced the vehicle at 110 mph in a posted 70 mph zone. While traveling at this speed, the vehicle passed other traffic on the shoulder and passed using the travel lanes. All of these lane changes were made just moments before a collision occurred. The vehicle then used the southbound exit ramp to County Road 48 within the city of Bushnell, FL. After passing stopped traffic on the left grassy shoulder, the vehicle began traveling east within the westbound lanes of travel on County Road 48. I continued to pursue the vehicle, all while watching the motoring public narrowly miss a potentially deadly head-on collision with the defendant. Once I was able to determine I could safely end the pursuit, I utilized a PIT (precision immobilization technique) by placing the front right of my patrol vehicle into the rear right side of the defendant's vehicle. This caused the defendant's vehicle to travel in a southerly direction across all lanes of County Road 48 and onto the southern shoulder. After colliding with a mailbox, the vehicle overturned onto its roof.