Teen driver reaches 90 mph during high-speed chase

A Crawfordville teen was arrested for speeding by almost 30 miles per hour after attempting to evade police in a 90-mph high-speed chase.

Police spotted a red Chevrolet utility vehicle traveling 74 mph in a 45-mph zone on U.S. Hwy. 441  shortly before midnight Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The officer performed a U-turn and attempted to catch up to the vehicle.

Tyler Bradley Newton, 19, ignored the officer’s emergency lights and attempts to stop him. Instead, he accelerated his vehicle to over 90 mph to avoid the officer. Just as the officer was going to cancel the traffic stop, Newton rapidly slowed down and turned left into the Lake Sumter State College parking lot, the report said.

The officer knew the entrance to the college ended in a dead-end round about, so he turned off his emergency lights and entered the lot. He began looking for Newton’s vehicle, which came to a stop facing southbound near a building, the report said.

Reactivating his lights, the officer attempted to get out of his vehicle and approach Newton, the report said. However, Newton rapidly accelerated and performed a U-turn, nearly striking the officer and his vehicle, before speeding out of the parking lot.

The officer notified dispatch of Newton’s last known location and again turned off his emergency lights. As he pulled out of the lot, the officer observed the red Chevrolet on the south side of the highway in a field. The vehicle had its emergency flashers on and appeared disabled, the report said.

The officer began driving towards the scene, only to have two white males, including Newton, begin running westbound behind the Microtel and Hampton Inn. The officer pursued them on foot through the parking lots. Newton began running northbound towards the highway while the other fled south towards an apartment complex, the report said.

Because Newton was the driver, the officer continued to pursue him, the report said. He displayed his taser and ordered Newton to stop, to which he complied and got on the ground.

Newton was arrested and charged with fleeing the police at a high speed with a disregard for public safety and resisting an officer without violence. He was transported to the Lake County Jail after completing the booking process. Bond was set at $11,000.