A vehicle pursuit from Immokalee to North Naples on Monday ended in the arrests of two Lee County men, including the driver, who deputies say struck a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle with a trooper inside and kept on going.
The driver, Kevin Gerard Palmer, 26, of Fort Myers, was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding and felony driving on a suspended license. His front-seat passenger, Coroy Dontavia Flournoy, also 26 and of Fort Myers, was charged with resisting arrest.
Deputies gave this account:
At 6:54 a.m., a Collier County sheriff’s deputy tried to stop a 2008 black Nissan Altima driven by Palmer that was traveling 80 mph in a 55 mph zone southbound on State Road 29 near Agri Boulevard in Immokalee.
Palmer refused to yield and went to Interstate 75, heading west. The Altima struck an FHP vehicle with a trooper inside who was assisting in the pursuit on I-75, just north of Immokalee Road. Palmer kept on driving.
The trooper was not injured, deputies said.
Deputies deployed stop sticks three times during the pursuit and each time Palmer drove around them.
The pursuit ended after 29 minutes at the 113 mile marker of I-75 after deputies forced the Altima to a safe stop.
No injuries were reported. The two backseat passengers in the Altima, both teenagers, were taken to a local hospital for evaluation as a precaution, deputies said.
Palmer and Flournoy were being booked into the Collier County jail this morning.
