High-speed pursuit ends with crash minutes after suspect tries to hit deputy: CCSO

A man is in custody after the Citrus County Sheriff's Office says he sped away from multiple attempted traffic stops and tried to hit a deputy during his cross-county getaway.

What we know:

According to CCSO, deputies responded to a suspicious person call at the RaceTrac off U.S. 19 in Crystal River early Wednesday.

Investigators say the suspect drove out of the parking lot, nearly hitting several people, then jumped the median before speeding away. Deputies called off the pursuit because of traffic in the area, according to the sheriff's office.

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CCSO says minutes later, the suspect tried to hit a deputy who was in the middle of an unrelated traffic stop, then was clocked driving 86 mph in a 45 mph zone with his hazard lights on along U.S. 19.

That's when deputies pursued the suspect again, according to the sheriff's office, with the Florida Highway Patrol and Hernando County Sheriff's Office joining in as the pursuit crossed county lines.

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Deputies say the suspect crashed near U.S. 19 and Pepper St. in Spring Hill, hitting several other vehicles and causing multiple injuries.

Law enforcement arrested the suspect while the injured crash victims were treated at the scene, according to CCSO.

What we don't know:

The sheriff's office did not release the suspect's name or age.

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The Source: This story was written with information from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

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