A routine traffic stop turned into a dangerous high-speed chase for a Florida Highway Patrol officer after her cruiser was struck, allegedly intentionally, by a man driving a Honda Civic.
Trooper Vanessa Franceschi’s dashboard camera captured everything but the actual impact (at least not visually), as she then began her pursuit of the suspect through bumper to bumper traffic on the Florida Turnpike.
The suspect tried using the emergency lane and the shoulder in order to make his escape, but Franceschi didn’t let up and managed to stay on his tail right up until the moment when she got close enough to execute a PIT maneuver (Pursuit Intervention Technique), which is when you use your vehicle to force a fleeing car to abruptly turn sideways and lose forward momentum.
Based on the arrest report, the suspect, one Raumel Quntero, stated that he hit the trooper’s patrol car on purpose, which is pretty surprising, even in today’s world where we’ve pretty much seen everything.
Franceschi reportedly suffered minor injuries and Quntero was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing and eluding, as well as leaving the scene of a crash with injuries. It’s a good thing nobody else was harmed, as the suspect could have easily lost control of his car at certain times during the chase.