A man was arrested Tuesday while driving a stolen Mercedes down Interstate 95, hitting multiple other vehicles, switching cars, and then crashing into a Fort Lauderdale home, deputies say.
A little after 9 a.m., the Broward Sheriff’s Office received a report about a stolen car in Boca Raton, spokesperson Claudinne Caro said in a media release. BSO Aviation Unit helicopters and Burglary Apprehension Team detectives began surveilling the car as it headed south on I-95. The car then took the Griffin Road exit near the airport before heading back onto I-95 going north.
Caro said that BSO assisted in surveilling the car but not in a pursuit. Florida Highway Patrol had also responded, but a spokesperson deferred to BSO for questions and did not immediately say if troopers were pursuing the car at the time.
When the driver reached Broward Boulevard, he abandoned the car and was picked up in a gray Audi that had three other people inside, according to the release. The Audi continued towards central Fort Lauderdale. At some point, the three people fled from the car while the driver kept going until he finally crashed into a home in the 1500 block of Northwest 12th Court. When he got out of the car, he was arrested by Fort Lauderdale Police.
No one at the house was injured, the release said. However, during the course of the pursuit, the driver committed at least three hit-and-runs on other cars, causing some people to have minor injuries. The release did not say how many people were injured or what charges the driver is now facing.
Florida Highway Patrol and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue also responded.
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