A dangerous high-speed pursuit ended with an arrest after a suspect rammed a St. Johns County police cruiser and then fled on foot following an early morning Wednesday crash, documents show.
The incident began around 1:30 a.m. when a sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a gray Ford Expedition with an unreadable paper tag at the intersection of State Road 16 and Industry Center Road in St. Augustine.
When the driver failed to pull over, deputies began a pursuit.
The suspect, Robert Goodwin, 37, of Ormond Beach, drove westbound into an active construction zone, nearly striking multiple construction workers and forcing them to jump out of the way.
The vehicle then entered oncoming traffic, traveling in the wrong direction in the eastbound lanes of State Road 16, papers state.
The suspect shot onto the southbound on-ramp to Interstate 95, and the pursuit continued from approximately mile marker 318.
Goodwin allegedly rammed the side of a deputy’s patrol cruiser at one point during the chase, causing “significant damage,” court papers state.
It took two PIT maneuvers to finally spin Goodwin’s vehicle off the roadway and into a wooded area in Hastings.
He then exited the SUV and ran before being felled and handcuffed after a pair of Taser zaps.
Investigators learned that Goodwin was already wanted for a separate fleeing and eluding case, is classified as a habitual traffic offender, and was driving with a suspended license, papers state.
Deputies also found a glass pipe and methamphetamine in the vehicle.
He now faces a slew of felony charges.
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