Driver leads 103-mph interstate chase, then rams state trooper, Florida officials say

A driver clocked at 103 mph on Interstate 4 is accused of “looking directly” at a state trooper just before pinning him to his car with her vehicle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The trooper was injured but managed to get back into his patrol car and chase the driver until she crashed, officials said.

Investigators say the driver — who has a suspended license — faces a series of charges that include reckless driving resulting in serious bodily injury.

Her Jan. 7 arrest came after a dramatic chase that began when Trooper Diego Flores saw a vehicle exceeding 100 mph on Interstate 4 north of Orlando, according to an affidavit.

The trooper gave chase and used a controlled crash maneuver to stop the vehicle when it exited the interstate, officials said.

“As I exited my patrol vehicle, the driver ... looked directly at me and ignored my verbal commands,” Flores wrote in his report.

“The driver drove her vehicle at a high rate of speed directly towards me (and) the front end of her vehicle collided with my patrol vehicle’s driver side door. I was pinned between my driver’s side door and the door frame. ... The driver then fled.”

Flores suffered a knee injury but climbed back into his vehicle and chased the driver until she lost control and crashed into a business, officials said.

The 38-year-old woman, who lives in Sanford, was arrested and Flores discovered her license had been suspended in October, officials said.

A search of her vehicle revealed “brass knuckles with a spring assisted knife” in the driver’s side door, officials said.

The driver is charged with reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, aggravated fleeing with injury or damage, possession of a weapon by a convicted Florida felon, failure to stop/remain at a crash involving serious bodily injury and driving with a suspended or revoked license, officials said.

Flores is recovering from his knee injuries, officials said.

This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Driver leads 103-mph interstate chase, then rams state trooper, Florida officials say."