Police say a Flagler County man suspected of robbery led police officers on a car chase through three Florida counties before being apprehended.
The chase on Thursday night started shortly after the suspect, Daniel J. Ruddell, 45, of Palm Coast, Fla., robbed a Daytona Beach Circle K store by threatening the clerk with a bottle of liquid he claimed was toxic, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. He fled the store about 5 p.m. in a 2015 black Chevrolet Silverado.
Daytona Beach and Volusia County officers tracked down Ruddell, but the suspect sped off northbound on I-95 into Flagler County. Police unsuccessfully tried using "stop sticks'' to stop Ruddell, but he continued to elude authorities by driving into St. Johns County.
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office deputies then tried using the same strategy to stop Ruddell's car as he exited onto State Road 207. He again avoided the ``stop sticks,'' but rammed into a Flagler Sheriff's Office patrol car as he attempted to run over deputies, who fired shots at the suspect's vehicle.
Ruddell was eventually nabbed after being cornered by police near the County Road 214 overpass. He was taken to a nearby hospital, and later arrested and charged with aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude with property damage.
