Mt. Dora man dies in fiery crash in Crystal River while fleeing from Inverness traffic stop by CCSO deputies
Photo courtesy of FHP.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Troop C
Crystal River (Citrus County), Florida - A 41 year-old man from Mount Dora, Florida died as the result of a traffic crash that occurred at 1:35 am, early Saturday morning, July 15, 2023, in Crystal River, as the result of the man fleeing from a traffic stop by Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) deputies in Inverness, Florida.
According to the Florida HIghway Patrol (FHP), the man was driving a Jeep Cherokee sport utility vehicle (SUV), traveling west on State Road 44 (E. Gulf to Lake Highway), east of Colonade Street in Inverness, when the driver fled from an attempted traffic stop by CCSO deputies at a high rate of speed.
The chase continued into Lecanto, Florida on State Road 44 (now W. Gulf to Lake Highway), where the fleeing vehicle drove over stop sticks placed on the roadway by deputies, east of the intersection of County Road 491 (S. Lecanto Highway). However the driver continued fleeing from deputies until his vehicle crossed the median and collided with a light post. The SUV continued fleeing into Crystal River, Florida, until it collided with a concrete Crystal Oaks subdivision title wall (see photo) and caught fire, at Crystal Oaks Drive.
The driver, who was wearing a seatbelt, suffered fatal injuries at the scene of the crash.
June 23 traffic chase and car crash - this driver was shot, but survived:
A similar traffic chase incident occurred, shortly before 2:00 pm on Friday, June 23, 2023, when Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a black four-door sedan in Inverness, Florida - in heavy traffic - on State Road 44 (E. Gulf to Lake Highway) near Croft Avenue. The driver, 22 year-old Ahvi Samaad Deberry-Howe, of Elgin, South Carolina, also fled from deputies.
According to CCSO press releases, the driver intentionally rammed nearby vehicles in his attempt to flee from deputies, and the vehicle fled for seven and a half miles to Crystal River, Florida, at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, with Deberry-Howe sometimes driving into oncoming traffic, until he lost control of his vehicle and crashed. Deberry-Howe was also shot by a deputy and injured by a CCSO K9 ("police dog") and transported to a Pasco County hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Earlier in the day, a deputy had attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the same vehicle and driver in Citrus Springs, Florida, and the driver had fled from the deputy.
Upon his release from the hospital, according to the CCSO, Deberry-Howe was scheduled to be placed under arrest on a Citrus County warrant with charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated fleeing and eluding, resisting officers with violence, and resisting officers without violence and incarcerated at the Pasco County Jail in Land O Lakes, Florida.