An Alabama man was arrested after colliding with another vehicle while fleeing from a traffic stop on Interstate 75.
A deputy saw 66-year-old Kenneth Lee Whitfield in a blue Dodge Grand Caravan on I-75 in Wildwood around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. He was driving through the grassy emergency-vehicle-only turn-around area, so the deputy stopped in the left-hand emergency stopping lane to speak with him.
However, the vehicle paused halfway through its illegal U-turn. The deputy started to reverse toward it, turning on his emergency lights in the process. The vehicle began reversing, too, out toward the northbound side of I-75, the report said.
By the time the deputy made it to the northbound side, the vehicle had already started driving toward the exit ramp. The great distance it created seemed to be an attempt to flee from a traffic stop. Indeed, the vehicle proceeded to weave in-between traffic, cutting off multiple other vehicles without caring about the public’s safety, the report said.
The deputy then activated his siren to make sure Whitfield knew he was trying to stop him. The vehicle instead continued driving recklessly and almost collided with multiple others on the exit ramp. As the deputy closed the gap between them, Whitfield was traveling so fast that he misjudged the distance between him and the vehicle in front of him, the report said.
Whitfield subsequently locked up his brakes, causing his vehicle to slide into the back of another vehicle that was at a red light waiting for it to change. He was ultimately arrested and taken to the UF Health ER, located at 3800 Meggison Rd., The Villages, to be medically cleared.
A later check of his driving history revealed his license had been suspended and was in revocation status as of Jan. 14 for DUI, the report said.
Whitfield was charged with fleeing from law enforcement, reckless driving and driving while license suspended (third or subsequent violation). The Florida native was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center with bond set at $75,000.