What started with the report of a shooting-death of a woman in Deltona early this morning ended after a police chase before dawn at the foot of the Hammock Dunes Bridge with a man apparently shooting himself after he crashed through the toll bridge’s arm and veered off the road.
Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies had responded to the report of a shooting on Parma Drive in Deltona at 2:23 a.m. “An adult female victim is deceased,” VCSO said in a statement. “The suspect, who was known to the victim, was identified and located within an hour of the shooting. The suspect fled and crashed his vehicle in Flagler County, where he was apprehended.”
The language the Sheriff’s Office used is typical of domestic disputes, though that has not been confirmed, nor have the identities of the individuals involved released.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, who was at the scene at the bridge, said his agency was alerted to the suspect fleeing Volusia County at 2:45 a.m. The suspect’s vehicle information, a Land Rover SUV, was entered into the Real Trime Crime Center’s databases.
“We spotted the vehicle on Old Dixie Highway, and then ultimately we got behind them on Interstate 95 and attempted to do a felony traffic stop,” Staly said. “The vehicle fled northbound. The vehicle exited Palm Coast Parkway, at which time we got a successful stop stick hit and flattened at least one tire. The vehicle continued to travel eastbound on Palm Coast Parkway. It went through the toll plaza, breaking an arm gate that was down, at which point the vehicle veered to the north down the embankment and came to a stop at the edge of the bridge,” on the west side of the bridge.
At that point sheriff’s deputies knew there was one occupant in the car, that he was believed to have committed a homicide, that he was armed, and that he was “allegedly wearing body armor,” the sheriff said, “so that resulted in us containing the scene and getting our SWAT to the scene and getting our Bearcat to the scene, which is our armored vehicle.”
The airbag had deployed in the car, making it difficult to see inside. Using the armored vehicle, deputies repeatedly called out using the public address system. There was no response.
“We could see that the individual in the vehicle was injured, and ultimately our deputies extracted him out of the vehicle and turned him cover to Palm Coast and Flagler County Fire Rescue,” Staly said. “We believe at some point when he veered off the road or when he came to a rest down the embankment, he shot himself.” Asked where the man shot himself, the sheriff said: “It does appear to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound but it’s still an active investigation. I don’t want to divulge those details at this point.”
No trauma helicopter was available. He was initially routed to Halifax hospital, but due to his condition, was rerouted to one of the two AdventHealth Palm Coast hospitals. That takes place when the individual is in such critical condition that additional traveling is either too dangerous or pointless.
The Hammock Dunes bridge area of the crash is still an active criminal investigation, with the sheriff’s CSI unit and detectives at the scene. The bridge itself had been closed to traffic for about two hours before reopening at 6:15 a.m. The pedestrian path on the north side of the bridge remains closed.
“I’m very proud of our guys,” Staly said. “They did a great job protecting themselves and the community when they couldn’t see what’s going on. This is why we have this heavy duty equipment, so our deputies can be safe when they go into very dangerous situations.”
