BRADENTON BEACH – Despite multiple police departments, a helicopter and a K9 unit, a suspect remains at large after a high-speed pursuit on Oct. 15 ended with an SUV crashing into the Gulf of Mexico.
The encounter began as Holmes Beach police observed headlights driving on the beach around 2 a.m. and began to pursue the vehicle. Police believe the vehicle drove onto the beach in Anna Maria, but the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols Anna Maria, was not yet involved in the chase.
According to a report filed by Bradenton Beach Police Officer Devon Straight, the Chevrolet SUV was driving on the beach at such a high rate of speed that Holmes Beach officers in pursuit lost sight of the vehicle. Straight was monitoring the radio, realizing the vehicle would soon enter into his jurisdiction.
“While on scene at Via Roma, I observed a pair of headlights on the beach quickly approaching. The truck then passed by me at a dangerously high rate of speed, at which time I made my way back to my patrol car and attempted to catch up to the vehicle,” Straight said in his report.
After activating his lights and siren, Straight pursued the SUV on Gulf Drive before entering the beach at the beach access in the 1300 block of Gulf Drive. Even though the vehicle could only continue down the beach or cross back over to Gulf Drive at some point, stopping the fleeing truck and arresting the driver would prove to be incredibly difficult.
“The truck appeared to be traveling approximately 100 mph down the beach, and it stayed at least 15 blocks ahead of me,” Straight said. “I then lost visual on the truck around the 300 block of Gulf Drive South, believing it had possibly gotten back on Gulf Drive or had blacked out their headlights.”
Straight then left the beach and got back on Gulf Drive heading southbound towards Coquina Beach, attempting to get a visual on the vehicle. After about 10 minutes of searching, witnesses that were fishing in the area said they saw the vehicle driving recklessly on Coquina Beach, according to the report.
Straight then returned to the beach in his patrol car and continued to Longboat Pass, following the tire tracks of the suspect vehicle, which he found located more than 15 feet off the beach partially submerged in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I notified dispatch of my location and called out perimeter positions for responding units,” Straight said. “I then held the vehicle at gunpoint until a Holmes Beach officer arrived and we confirmed the vehicle was unoccupied.”
A possible suspect was detained at the scene and released because police were unable to positively link him to the vehicle at the time.
The search for the driver of the SUV intensified as the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office assisted with a K9 unit and a helicopter. The K9 alerted to a man crossing over the Longboat Key Bridge into the town of Longboat Key.
The driver was described as a Hispanic male in a camouflage long-sleeved shirt. Witnesses fishing on the bridge said someone matching that description crossed the bridge on foot shortly after the crash, complaining of a back injury, confirming the escape route the K9 unit detected. The witnesses also had an answer for how the vehicle managed to end up so far out in the water, saying it hit the rock jetty at a high rate of speed, went airborne and landed in the water.
The vehicle was towed from the scene by Bullet Towing about three hours after landing in the water, at which point a full inventory search of the vehicle was conducted by police, who say multiple alcohol containers were found, along with personal belongings of the driver. Bradenton Beach police say that a man matching the name of the suspected driver called them to report the vehicle stolen in the following days. The suspect was told the vehicle had been involved in a crash, hoping he would come to the station to answer questions, but he didn’t, and further efforts to contact him have been unsuccessful.
The suspect vehicle’s path was back-tracked to look for any damage the rampage may have caused. Police found that a small wooden fence and hitching post by lifeguard stand #8 was obliterated in the sand with vehicle parts from the suspect vehicle scattered around it. Two signs that were posted on the Coquina Beach south jetty had also been run over. Police say it could have been much worse and were thankful nobody was taking a late-night walk on the beach when the incident occurred.
A hit-and-run crash report remains open as police continue to try to locate the suspect. Additional charges will most likely be added when and if he is captured. These could include attempting to elude police, statutes that ban driving vehicles on Florida beaches where it is not expressly permitted, leaving the scene of a crash and possibly more. Bradenton Beach police are not commenting at this time on exactly what charges will be filed if they make an arrest, but say it was a serious and dangerous incident that they are hopeful will result in an arrest.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 941- 778-6311.
