A silver BMW went airborne over the median strip and into oncoming traffic on Southwest Williston Road Tuesday afternoon, colliding with a FedEx truck while attempting to evade law enforcement.
Alachua County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jim Yancy attempted to conduct a traffic stop following the car’s dive into oncoming traffic at 1:34 p.m., according to ACSO spokesperson Chris Sims. However, the driver refused to comply and sped away in an attempt to evade law enforcement.
As Yancy pursued the vehicle, he received information the Gainesville Police Department was responding to a possible carjacking. The reported stolen vehicle was the same silver BMW in the deputy's chase, Sims said.
Yancy was on Southwest Williston Road near the Interstate 75 North exit ramp, preparing to execute a precision immobilization technique maneuver to stop the suspect. The tactic would cause the fleeing vehicle to veer sharply off course and force it to come to a stop. However, before he could initiate the maneuver, the silver BMW lost control, went over the median strip edge and crashed into the cab of a FedEx semi-truck, Sims said.
The suspect is an unidentified white female. She sustained several non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to an area hospital, Sims said. The FedEx truck driver emerged largely unscathed.
The ACSO has pending charges against the suspect for fleeing law enforcement at high speeds. However, the suspect has been turned over to the custody of the GPD as part of its investigation into the potential of carjacking and a hit-and-run.
Southwest Williston Road and the exit ramp of Interstate 75 North were briefly closed but have since been reopened.
Contact Annie Wang at awang@alligator.org. Follow her on X @wynwg.
Annie Wang is a metro general assignment reporter and a second-year journalism major. She has previously worked on the university desk as the university administration reporter. She enjoys reading and writing book reviews in her spare time.
