A video posted to TikTok captures the moment that a speeding police officer loses control of his vehicle and drives straight into a retention pond. Interestingly, this happened in Florida, so do we just say Florida Cop instead of Florida Man?
The clip is a “blink, or you’ll miss it” situation, but it’s clear that the driver caught the entire thing on camera. In fact, he even stopped on the side of the road with another driver, likely to make sure that the officer was okay.
The incident occurred near the interchange of Interstate 95 and International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach and was later discussed during a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office press briefing.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood confirmed neither the deputy nor his K-9 partner was injured, though the patrol SUV was totaled. He also didn’t mince words about what he saw, saying, “From what the video looks like, he was driving like an idiot.” Chitwood added that the deputy “failed to negotiate the off-ramp” and that the preliminary investigation indicated he was traveling about 92 mph.
Dashcam Catches the Split-Second Mistake
@jeremiahrunde Watch the cop that pulls up on the right side of the screen… this was about 20 minutes ago #DBPD #Daytona dash📸: @Darryl Runde ♬ original sound – Jeremiah Runde
The video above was originally posted to TikTok by user @jeremiahrunde. It shows the driver of the vehicle driving at what appears to be the speed limit behind a white truck.
On the ramp to his right, you can see a deputy sheriff’s patrol vehicle zoom past at incredible speed. Shortly after the vehicle passes, the deputy appears to fail to negotiate the off-ramp, sending the vehicle flying into the nearby retention pond.
When the impact happened, all you could see was a giant splash from the side of the road. Fortunately, both the driver of the car that recorded the incident and the truck in front of it appear to have stopped to check things out.
The Patrol Car Wasn’t Nearly as Lucky
What’s really funny about this is that just before the driver with the dashcam stops, his Waze app says, “Car on shoulder reported ahead.” Typically, this indicates that someone reported the incident on the app to warn other drivers.
However, the only other driver who stopped was the truck, so did he happen to have his finger on the Waze trigger, waiting for something like this to happen? The video ends here, and unfortunately, there aren’t any updates posted to the account.
When the cars passed by the police car in the pond, you could briefly see that the hood was completely bent in. The emergency lights were also on, though it’s not clear from the video whether they were activated before or after the crash.
Waze Somehow Beat Everyone to the Punchline
Commenters also found the Waze situation to be hilarious, with a majority of the comments reading, “HOW TF WAZE KNOW ALREADY!?!” Similarly, another comment read, “That Dodge was QUICK to report it😂😅😅😂.”
Others were making jokes at the expense of the officer, with another well-liked comment reading, “As a law enforcement officer, I am CACKLING 😂😂😂😂😂 bro 100% knew that curve was there too.” Another person similarly wrote, “And the road was ticketed and found to be at fault.”
The sheriff’s office is conducting both a traffic crash investigation and an internal investigation. Chitwood said the outcome of those investigations will determine whether the deputy faces any disciplinary action. He also confirmed that neither the deputy nor his K-9 partner was injured, despite the patrol SUV being declared a total loss.