Marion County High-Speed Chase Occurred While Fleeing Driver Held Baby in Arms

A frightening high-speed chase that occurred in Marion County this past Thursday evening has resulted in a female suspect issued numerous charges including grand theft, resisting an officer, knowingly driving on a suspended license, and child neglect. According to the official report issued by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began when an on-duty police officer in Dunnellon attempted to initiate a route traffic stop on a silver Ford F150 with a Tennessee license plate after the officer in question clocked the Ford as going higher than the posted limit.

After activating the lights on the cruiser, the officer began to pursue the Ford as it seemingly ignored the flashing lights and continued to speed down the eastbound lanes of Highway 484. The police officer then called the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for backup and soon there were numerous police vehicles chasing the pickup truck down the highway.

When the cars reached the intersection of Highway 484 and State Road 200, the driver of the Ford quickly pulled the car around and merged onto the westbound lanes of Highway 484, where it resumed attempting to flee from the pursuing officers. The chase continued for a while down the western lanes of 484 before the driver of the Ford once again pulled a U-turn and resumed heading east. At this time, the report states that a second vehicle, a dark SUV, began traveling down the highway near to the fleeing pickup truck. Authorities stated that they have reason to believe that the driver of this second vehicle holds some connection with the driver of the Ford, although exactly what that connection is has not been released.

It was as the Ford closed in on the intersection of 484 and SR 200 for the second time that the driver ran over a cluster of stop sticks laid by the authorities. Both the pickup truck and the SUV then turned onto SR 200 and continued to flee from the police until deputies used a PIT maneuver was used to fully disable the Ford.

When Marion County Deputies approached the truck, they saw that the driver side was occupied by a woman holding an infant in her arms. The woman, identified as the 27-year-old Carbonara, told the deputies that she had fled from the police because she was driving on a suspended license. The deputies then ran the plates on the truck and discovered that it had been stolen from Knoxville, Tennessee. Carbonara reportedly told the police that she was unaware that the truck was stolen.

While the child appears to have been in the woman’s arms for the duration of the chase, it was not immediately clear whether or not they were injured during the events. It is also not clear whether or not the child is Carbonara’s or not. The last thing the report failed to mention was the identify of the individual inside of the dark SUV and whether or not they had been detained as well.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.