Tallahassee (KHN) – A 41-year-old man accused of driving the wrong way on Interstate 95 before colliding with a Florida Highway Patrol trooper’s vehicle was detained when investigators discovered a stolen weapon in his vehicle, according to an affidavit.
Richard Allen Ford of Tallahassee was arrested Tuesday night on a variety of offenses, including aggravated violence on a law enforcement officer and multiple counts of evading, eluding, and DUI, according to an affidavit.
According to the St. Lucie County clerk’s office, four of the charges are misdemeanors, while six are felonies.
A trooper in Brevard County requested assistance in a continuing pursuit, and at around 7:11 p.m. On Tuesday, investigators said that the vehicle began heading north in the southbound lanes of I-95. The car was described as a silver Mitsubishi SUV.
Troopers lost sight of it, but at 7:31 p.m., an Indian River County Sheriff’s helicopter reported seeing it south of State Road 60.
Troopers pursued the Mitsubishi, and the driver “began to drive erratic, all over the roadway and on the outside shoulder,” according to the affidavit. A trooper attempted to block the Orange Avenue exit in St. Lucie County to prevent the motorist from leaving I-95.
The Mitsubishi apparently collided with the right side of another trooper’s car. The FHP car collided with a concrete barrier when the Mitsubishi became disabled at a railing.
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The driver, known as Ford, reportedly refused to exit after being repeatedly instructed to do so by law enforcement personnel. Before Ford was arrested, a trooper used a baton to break two windows in his vehicle.
Ford “was believed to be under the influence of an unknown substance,” according to the affidavit.
Ford’s license was suspended, and authorities discovered a stolen firearm from Tallahassee in the vehicle.
He is classified as having a “unknown” public defender.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Ford was arrested Thursday and placed in the St. Lucie County Jail on a $124,503 bond.
Reference: Pursuit ends in St. Lucie County after man drives wrong way on I-95, FHP states