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Man stole vehicle, crashed it before throwing himself at cars, Palm Bay police say

Mikhail Waddell, 35, faces several charges

Mikhail Waddell (Brevard County Sheriff's Office)

PALM BAY, Fla. – A bizarre traffic crime spree in Palm Bay resulted in a vehicle being stolen, a car, a mailbox and a bus stop being crashed into, and a suspect injured after flinging himself into the path of two other vehicles, police said.

The incident happened Wednesday morning in the area of San Filippo Drive SE and Jupiter Road SE.

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Police said it all began when Mikhail Waddell, 35, crashed into a mailbox on San Filippo Drive SE and fled. They said he then crashed his vehicle into a bus stop after speeding along Treeland Road.

Police added Waddell then got out of the vehicle, began to cross San Filippo Drive and threw himself into a Ford pickup truck. The driver of the pickup stopped to check on Waddell, as did another driver in a black Volkswagen.

Police said Waddell got up and jumped into the Volkswagen and took off on San Filippo Drive, running a red light at Jupiter Boulevard and striking a Dodge Charger, injuring its driver.

After that, police said Waddell left the Volkswagen while it was still moving, ran across San Filippo Drive and threw himself in front of a Toyota Camry.

Police said Waddell suffered injuries from the incident and was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center.

He’s facing facing charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury.

Police said they’re not yet sure what Waddell’s motive was.