Brandon Lopez

Detective Injured in Crash Following Cross-County Chase

A dangerous suspect was being chased by deputies in Martin County, when he slammed his car head-on into the cruiser of another deputy.

The impact of the crash was so violent, it caused the deputy’s vehicle to roll over.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that Juan Carlos Carmenate was allegedly at the wheel of the car that led deputies on a wild chase that crossed two counties.

It started in Lake Worth, with Carmenate carjacking a man at a convenience store, police said.

The suspect then sped off, raced through Palm Beach County, north into Martin County.

He then changed directions, and veered off the roadway, crashing into a deputy’s vehicle.

Martin County detective Jason Flemming was sitting inside.

“One minute you’re driving along and you’re going to a regular call. The next minute, this is what you’re involved in. This is what they do every day, this is law enforcement,” said Bradshaw.

Several bullet holes were seen in the front windshield of the suspect’s vehicle.

Investigators said he fired a shot at the carjacking victim, and also at the deputy’s SUV before coming to the crashing end. Carmenate is behind bars, while Deputy Flemming was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

“We’re lucky that nobody is dead in this thing but this is a serious bad guy to get off the streets because there’s no telling what he’s going to do if he got away,” said Bradshaw.

Deputy Flemming suffered a head injury.

Authorities said Carmenate will face at least two counts of attempted murder.

Contact Us