Florida Keys

Speeding Driver Fleeing Deputies Crashes Into Key West Hotel: Sheriff

Motorist hospitalized after pursuit ends in crash, officials said

Monroe County Sheriff's Office

A speeding motorist who was tring to flee from deputies was hospitalized after crashing into a Key West hotel pool area, authorities said.

The incident happened late Wednesday night during a pursuit that spanned from Big Pine Key to the entrance of Key West on U.S. 1, Monroe County Sheriff's Office officials said.

Officials said the driver, 31-year-old Asiel Diaz Valladares, was driving a van when a deputy spotted him going 86 mph southbound in the 35 mph Key Deer Zone near Mile Marker 30.

Multiple deputies tried to stop the van but broke off their pursuits due to safety reasons as Diaz Valladares continued to drive about 80 mph, officials said.

Authorities even used tire spikes but they weren't successful.

The van eventually ran through the Triangle entrance to Key West and smashed onto the property of the Hilton Garden Inn Key West, smashing through a fence and going over trees and a jacuzzi before crashing into a pavilion, officials said.

Diaz Valladares was found hiding in some hotel bushes and was taken into custody. He was later airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami where his condition was unknown.

No hotel guests were in the area at the time and no other injuries were reported.

Hotel officials said it would cost at least $30,000 to repair the damages. The van appeared to have been totaled, officials said.

Diaz Valladares was expected to face a litany of charges after he's released from the hospital, officials said.

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