Two cars were weaving through traffic on Interstate 4 in Plant City, Florida, early Sunday morning when they pulled alongside each other and accelerated.
Trooper J. Pacheco Martinez wrote in the arrest report that he paced both vehicles at 120 mph near mile marker 22. They climbed to 130 mph in a 70 mph zone before he switched on his lights and siren.
One driver headed for the shoulder and began slowing down.
The other did not.
Lights Out
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Ja Tavious Tahji Williams, 27, of Haines City, took the Polk Parkway east, shut off his lights, and pushed past 120 mph.
He tried several exits along the way. Martinez described the moves as attempts to lose the units behind him.
Martinez first tried to ram him. Williams regained control.
At another exit, he lost it and struck the median hard enough to blow two tires. He made it to U.S. 98 in Lakeland on the damaged wheels, where Martinez tried a separate PIT maneuver.
Williams crossed into the opposing side of the highway and headed north in the southbound lanes.
By then, the chase had crossed from Hillsborough County into Polk County in roughly 10 minutes.
Wrong Way
Near Edgewood Drive, Williams bailed out and ran into an open field.
This time, the SUV went on without him, rolling down the road after he jumped out.
Williams was apprehended after a short foot pursuit at 3:25 a.m. and booked into the Orient Road Jail later that morning.
His charges include aggravated fleeing to elude, reckless driving with property damage or personal injury, driving with a canceled, suspended, or revoked license, resisting an officer without violence, and possession of a Schedule I controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver.
The vehicle search turned up 19.5 grams of suspected marijuana in the center console, two additional bags containing a green leafy substance, a scale, and multiple clear plastic bags.
His driver’s license had been canceled on July 17. He remained in the Hillsborough County Jail without bond.
FHP later shared the pursuit publicly with a short piece of advice: “Rule #1 = #DontRun and #JustStop.”
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.