VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Two men from Sanford were arrested on Saturday following a shooting on I-4 that was caught on camera, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The men were arrested after fleeing at a high speed and crashing a car following a shooting that left a bullet hole in a windshield of a passing vehicle that was carrying four people, deputies said.
[TRENDING: Florida’s COVID-19 positivity rate drops below 5% | ‘We’re in the Black section:’ Couple says restaurant segregated diners | Hail blankets Daytona Beach like snow]
The suspects, 23-year-old driver Kobe Deron Hunter and 26-year-old passenger Deon Lenail Brown, were arrested after Hunter lost control of the Toyota Camry while speeding through the Deltona Boulevard intersection on Enterprise Road.
The occupants of the vehicle that was shot at weren’t injured, and they were able to provide dash camera footage and a tag number that allowed deputies to track down the suspect vehicle, deputies said.
The vehicle fled recklessly before a deputy spotted it traveling through Deltona, according to the sheriff’s office.
The shooting, reported around 4:24 p.m. Saturday, occurred between the 124 and 127 mile markers on westbound I-4. The victims pulled off the interstate and met with a Lake Helen police officer, who confirmed their windshield had been shot.
After the suspect vehicle fled from a deputy, Air One took over from overhead and tracked the vehicle as it started weaving through traffic on I-4 and through Deltona.
The car spun out, flipped and came to a stop near Pepperwood Avenue, where both suspects bailed out and ran into thick brush.
Hunter was taken into custody without incident moments later. Brown stayed in the brush and was apprehended by a K-9 unit shortly after that.
Hunter is charged with aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement. Brown is charged with shooting into an occupied conveyance and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.
The investigation is continuing and additional charges are possible.
The shooting is the second one on I-4 in Volusia County in recent weeks. On Feb. 21, Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to reports of a shooting between vehicles near mile marker 113. No injuries were reported.
Last April, at least 19 vehicles were damaged when a suspect fired a BB gun at passing vehicles on I-4 and I-95. That suspect (Deon Anthony Jones) was identified and arrested along with the driver, Tiyana Anderson.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood commended the victims and responding deputies on their quick work identifying, tracking down and arresting the suspects in Saturday’s case, and was extremely thankful no one was injured or worse.
“The scumbags who want to engage in idiotic gunplay on our roads can be sure they’ll receive the full attention of law enforcement and the justice system,” Chitwood said. “Fortunately, no one was killed today, but the morons sitting in jail tonight did just about everything they could to tempt fate and cause a tragedy.”
Use the form below to sign up for the ClickOrlando.com 4pm Trending newsletter, sent every weekday.