Palm Coast man killed in crash while fleeing St. Johns County Sheriff's deputies, FHP says
A 36-year-old Palm Coast man was killed Thursday when his SUV crashed after hitting spike strips as he fled from St. Johns County Sheriff's deputies during a chase that began in Flagler County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies were pursuing a suspect in an investigation related to sex crimes involving a minor victim, a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said. The suspect fled on U.S. 1 and Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies ended their pursuit at the St. Johns County line, the spokesperson said.
A Flagler County Sheriff's incident report identified the subject as Miguel Moreno. Earlier in the day, Moreno's girlfriend had discovered in Moreno's phone a video of her daughter undressing and entering the shower, according to an incident report. The girlfriend found an app on Moreno's phone that triggered when motion was detected, the report stated. The girlfriend checked Moreno's phone after her daughter had found a photo of her daughter's room with no one inside. The report did not give the daughter's age.
When she confronted Moreno, he became irate and threatened to kil himself if they could not work the situation out, the report stated. Moreno then left in a Chevrolet SUV.
A deputy spotted the SUV which had been reported due to a suicide threat possibly related to a sex offense. The deputy saw the SUV in the area of Cypress Point and Palm Coast parkways. When the deputy got behind the SUV, Moreno started to drive erratically and then got on Interstate 95 northbound. When the deputy turned on his emergency lights and sirens, Moreno increased his speed to about 100 mph and was weaving in and out of traffic, the report stated.
The deputy switched off his lights and sirens and saw that Moreno's vehicle drove off I-95 at the exit 298 off ramp. Moreno then drove north into St. Johns County, the report stated.
St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputies saw the man’s vehicle at U.S. 1 and State Road 206 and attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled northbound.
The crash occurred about 5:20 p.m. on U.S. 1 and Shores Boulevard. The Palm Coast man was "actively fleeing" from St. Johns County Sheriff's deputies as he drove northbound on U.S. 1, according to the FHP.
A St. Johns County Sheriff's deputy successfully deployed spike strips at U.S. 1 and Shores Boulevard, the FHP stated. The Palm Coast man continued to flee after hitting the spike strips, which caused the left front of his SUV to hit the right rear of a pickup truck, according to FHP.
The SUV overturned multiple times and the driver was ejected from the vehicle, the FHP stated. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputies then “immediately began to administer emergency medical aid” including a defibrillator and CPR, but were unable to save the man’s life, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office stated.
The SUV's driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
The 56-year-old St. Augustine man driving the pickup truck suffered minor injuries. He was wearing a seatbelt.
The person in the citizen’s vehicle was not injured, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man killed in crash fleeing St. Johns' deputies, FHP says
