A multi-county, high-speed chase ended with a fatal crash south of Chiefland Monday night.
According to a Levy County Sheriff’s Office release, the LCSO received a request for help from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) after troopers spotted a suspect wanted for a carjacking incident that happened in Pasco County.
The officers tried to stop the suspect – a 39-year-old Hispanic male – as he was driving through Crystal River, the release said. However, he fled north on U.S. Highway 19 into Levy County. That is when LCSO joined the chase.
LCSO deputies deployed stop sticks in Lebanon Station and again in Otter Creek, the release said. However, the suspect managed to avoid the attempts to flatten his tires both times.
The release states the man shot at officers several times during the pursuit, which reached speeds of 120 mph.
The chase came to end close to County Road 347 on U.S. Highway 19 after the suspect crashed roughly five miles south of Chiefland. According to the release, the man died in the crash.
The FHP and LCSO requested the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s help in the investigation due to the exchange of gunfire between law enforcement and the suspect.
“We are extremely thankful that this violent criminal was stopped and there were no injuries to any of the troopers, our LCSO deputies or members of our public,” Levy County Sheriff Bobby McCallum said in the release.
