Driver Fleeing Police Strikes Florida Fire Truck

A 20-year-old Crescent City man was arrested early Monday on multiple charges including driving under the influence, auto theft, child neglect and drug possession after a Chevrolet TrailBlazer with a 15-year-old passenger slammed into a pole and fire truck on County Road 309 in Georgetown, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Hermino Espino was booked into the Putnam County jail after the 2:30 a.m. crash, according to the Sheriff's Office. The 15-year-old boy is being treated at Shands at the University of Florida hospital in Gainesville.

A deputy returning from a house fire first spotted Espino speeding along a road at 70 mph, twice the speed limit. When the deputy turned to follow, the TrailBlazer sped up to 80 mph as he hit his lights and siren, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The TrailBlazer was soon closing in on the house fire site on County Road 309. It swerved in an apparent attempt to avoid parked fire trucks but hit the pole and a truck before the driver tried to run away. Stopped by firefighters, Espino tried to escape, but the deputy used his Taser to subdue him.

Espino was put in a patrol car, where the deputy later found discarded plastic bags of cocaine and marijuana, according to the Sheriff's Office. Other charges against him include fleeing an officer, hindering a firefighter, reckless driving, resisting an officer without violence, driving without a license and interfering with child custody.

The 15-year-old's mother had reported him as missing Nov. 17 after running away from her while at Beasley Middle School in Palatka. The TrailBlazer also was owned by the teen's mother, who told investigators she hadn't given anyone permission to drive it.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the traffic crash.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service