ORLANDO, Fla. – Three men and a 17-year-old boy were sent to Orange County’s jail and Juvenile Assessment Center, respectively, following their involvement in a vehicle pursuit early Saturday in Orlando with Florida Highway Patrol troopers, according to a news release.
Around 12:40 a.m., a trooper in the area of Southport and Palmbay drives attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a BMW traveling at an unlawful speed, the release states. The car sped away, in the process almost striking a different trooper who was standing outside of his vehicle, but FHP opted to not pursue the BMW due to the safety risk and because the driver had already been identified as 19-year-old Bryce Akerman-Byers, troopers said.
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About an hour later, a trooper saw the BMW “involved in street racing activities” in another location, the release states. When this trooper attempted a traffic stop, and when Akerman-Byers sped away a second time, a pursuit did begin.
Troopers followed the BMW through the southern Orlando area and even within Orlando International Airport property, the release states. At some point, a trooper’s vehicle crashed into a large tree, rendering it inoperable; the trooper who crashed was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and has since been discharged, FHP said.
All four occupants of the BMW exited the vehicle to run away, scaling a fence on OIA property and trying to hide, troopers said. Orlando police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office assisted troopers in locating the four, who were found to be uninjured after the pursuit and were apprehended, the release states.
Akerman-Byers faces charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated fleeing and eluding, participating in street racing, burglary, trespassing and resisting arrest, according to the release. The other two adults — 21-year-old Dalton Lee Jones and 20-year-old Adrian Jacob Hobbs — face charges of burglary and trespass, as does the 17-year-old, troopers said.
Additionally, troopers said Akerman-Byers’ BMW was subject for forfeiture due to its use in the commission of several felonies.
No other details were shared.
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