According to Lake County deputies, the school bus crash ended a two-county car theft prosecution.
GROVELAND, Florida. – Friday morning’s car theft chase, which involved two counties and the ramming of three Lake County patrol cars, ended in a school bus crash in the Groveland area.
Lake County deputies said the pursuit began around 6 a.m. when they tracked down a stolen truck in Claremont. Deputies said Joseph Crawford, 23, was filling the car with gasoline when he saw the deputies and fled in a truck.
[TRENDING: Universal Orlando Resort launches ‘epic’ ticket deal | Missing Florida Lyft driver’s car found in North Carolina after chase, officials say | Become a News 6 Insider]
Deputies said Crawford rammed two patrol cars and disabled one of them, adding that they tried to lock Crawford in a construction site where he crashed into another patrol car.
The deputies said they followed Crawford east into Orange County. When the truck broke down, deputies said Crawford tried to steal a second car, escaped, and then managed to steal a third car, a Ford Bronco that deputies said he used to get back to Lake County.
The pursuit ended in the Groveland area when Crawford crashed into a school bus carrying two adults and three children, the sheriff’s office said. Nobody on the bus was hurt.
Crawford was taken to a hospital in the Orlando area with non-life threatening injuries. He is charged with flight and tax evasion, grand larceny, resisting law enforcement officers and three counts of aggravated battery to a law enforcement officer.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:
Copyright 2023 WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News
texasstandard.news contributed to this report.
