A driver was ‘doing donuts’ on a dark Florida road, troopers say. Along came a cop car
A night out on the town for Valentine’s Day really went off the rails on the Space Coast of Florida, according to authorities.
As per a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, at around 1 a.m. Wednesday, a driver doing donuts on a major intersection in West Melbourne allegedly hit a patrol car driven by an officer from the local police department.
The FHP report began by saying that a trooper encountered two smashed-up cars getting loaded individually onto two flatbed tow trucks at around 2 a.m.
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A white Dodge Ram had two broken tires with damage to the driver’s side. The other wrecked vehicle, which sustained front end damage, was a Chevrolet Tahoe from the WMPD.
The officer in the Chevy told the trooper that he spotted the Ram traveling south on Hollywood Boulevard, moving at a “high rate of speed.” That driver, later identified as Jarret Hefler, 25, was turning his wheel in tight circles, aka donuts, “in the middle of the road.”
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Hefler’s truck then flew over a raised median, which caused the suspect to go into a slide. The officer initiated his lights for a traffic stop.
Realizing he was being pulled over, Hefler then put his car in reverse, striking the patrol car, and fled south on the same boulevard. The original officer caught up with him eventually in his damaged patrol car after the suspect collided with yet another individual’s car.
The arresting officer spoke with Hefler’s passenger, who reported that they were heading home from dinner at TGIF’s when her boyfriend decided to do donuts. She did not give a reason.
The woman said she told Hefler that she saw a cop car, which caused the defendant to speed up because he “didn’t want to go to jail,” said the complaint.
Hefler told police he didn’t recall any of the incident and didn’t want to answer any questions. The Palm Bay man was arrested and charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated fleeing with property damage, reckless driving, reckless driving with property damage and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage.
He was held at Brevard County Jail in nearby Cocoa, and released on $500 bond.
This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 3:25 PM.
