A man in a stolen car who nearly crashed into cars in a drive-through at a Leesburg restaurant was arrested early Wednesday evening after fleeing Lake County sheriff’s deputies.
Deputies had received an alert that a stolen Buick car was headed southbound on U.S. Hwy. 27. A deputy spotted the stolen car turn into the Wendy’s restaurant on 14th Street in Leesburg. The Buick was driven over a curb nearly hitting cars in the drive-up lane. The deputy followed the Buick and noted that the car ran several red lights, almost hitting several cars before the deputy broke off the chase, according to the arrest report.
Another deputy saw the driver of the stolen car pull off the road near the intersection of High Street and College Street. The deputies responding to the location took the driver, 25-year-old Daniel Hernandez of Leesburg, into custody as he attempted to walk away from the parked car. The deputies noted in their report that Hernandez “was known to them.” He has been booked 17 times since March 2019 at the Lake County Jail.
Two passengers in the Buick were questioned by the deputy. Both indicated they had been picked up by Hernandez and did not know the car had been reported stolen. They said that they urged Hernandez to pull over when the deputy first turned on his emergency lights but he told them that he could not stop.
Hernandez was arrested on charges of fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer and grand theft of a motor vehicle. He was booked at the Lake County Jail on $12,000 bond.
