Wild FHP chase in Florida Keys ends with speeding Range Rover crashing into boat
A driver fleeing from the Florida Highway Patrol going at more than 100 mph crashed his Range Rover into a boat being transported on U.S. 1 in the Florida Keys after troopers forced him off the road Tuesday night, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The chaos began shortly around 4:30 p.m. with a sheriff’s office deputy pulling over the Range Rover near mile marker 101.4 in Key Largo after it almost sideswiped her patrol car, according to her report.
The driver, 23-year-old Christopher Brinkley Smithers, was “fidgety and restless” and “struggled to form coherent sentences” when the deputy spoke with him, her report states. As another deputy arrived who was going to test Smithers’ sobriety, he sped off, the report states.
That’s when FHP troopers took over the pursuit.
Smithers, from Great Falls, Virginia, traveled about 14 miles south on U.S. 1 to Founders Park in Islamorada, according to photos and videos provided to the Miami Herald. Troopers said in their report that Smithers at times was driving faster than 122 mph along a route where speed limits range from 45 to 55 mph.
Video shot by a witness named Wes Wilson and posted on Facebook showed the black Range Rover speeding down the middle of U.S. 1 in the median separating north and southbound traffic, followed by two FHP cars. The troopers pinned the Range Rover in with their cruisers, but Smithers managed to make a left onto the Old Highway that parallels U.S. 1 in Islamorada and then try heading north.
Troopers rammed their cars into him again before he drove the SUV over the grassy shoulder and back onto the southbound lanes of U.S. 1. Troopers then forced him off the road with their cars, where he crashed into the twin-engine center console boat, which was being pulled by a pickup truck in the southbound lanes of U.S. 1.
Moments before troopers made contact with Smithers, he turned into Founders Park, which contains ball fields, playgrounds and other facilities used by children, according to FHP’s report. When he came upon locked gates, he turned around to drive out of the park and crashed into the guard house, knocking off the SUV’s right front tire, the report states.
After Smithers crashed into the boat, troopers ordered him out of the Range Rover at gunpoint. He resisted being cuffed at first, troopers said in their report. Before being booked into jail, Monroe County Fire Rescue paramedics took him to Mariners Hospital to be checked out.
He took Adderall, driver tells FHP
According to troopers, he told paramedics he took 80 milligrams of the ADHD medication Adderall, which is a powerful stimulant when abused. He told troopers the same after they read him his rights, according to the report. According to California Detox, a California drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, the standard dose of Adderall to treat ADHD is between 5 and 40 milligrams a day.
A breath test given to him by troopers came up negative for alcohol, according to the report. He submitted a urine test to check for other drugs, the report states. Results are pending.
As of Wednesday, Smithers was being held on two felony counts of fleeing and eluding police, felony drug possession, driving under the influence, speeding, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of a crash that caused property damage.
A judge has not set his bond, and information on his legal counsel was not immediately available. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 12, according to jail records.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 8:01 PM.
