A man is facing a slew of charges for a rainy, hour-long high-speed chase that unfolded across the state capital and led to at least eight separate crashes.
Zachary Read, 36, was arrested June 22 on 18 counts, including fleeing from an officer, driving with a suspended license and multiple hit and runs. He is being held in the Leon County Detention Facility.
Read was previously sentenced to nearly three years in prison for a 2022 carjacking incident during which he fled from law enforcement, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
A Florida Highway Patrol report details the long chase that spanned across several major Tallahassee roadways. FHP got involved after the Leon County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance in apprehending Read, who was driving a Toyota sedan with a stolen license plate that was possibly linked to a stabbing the day before, they said.
A trooper began trailing him along Timberlane Road until reaching Thomasville Road, but the report says rush hour traffic inhibited the trooper from safely pursuing Read. He relied on LCSO’s helicopter to keep monitoring and alerting him of Read’s whereabouts until he could catch up.
“In between Kerry Forest Parkway and Bannerman Road, the Toyota reached speeds over 100 miles per hour as it passed several cars,” court records say.
Read sped head-on into traffic, forcing numerous vehicles to swerve onto the road’s shoulder to avoid crashing into him, the trooper wrote. He continued to chase Read across Thomasville Road, and other highly busy roadways like Capital Circle Northeast, Miccosukee Road and Old St. Augustine Road.
Upon reaching Springhill Road, “the vehicle traveled through barricades and into the construction zone for a short distance,” the report says. “It should be noted that no construction workers or heavy equipment was present at the time of this pursuit.”
The trooper, alongside other law enforcement officers, chased Read until they lost sight of him just north of Orange Avenue, according to the report.
A Tallahassee Police officer, who had been trailing the car prior to the chase, confirmed Read was the man he saw get into the vehicle before the chase started.
The officer informed FHP that the car was believed to be connected to a stabbing that took place at a Circle K at the intersection of Crawfordville Road and Capital Circle, according to the report.
It was not noted whether Read was involved in the stabbing. He made his first appearance in court June 23 at 11 a.m. for the charges related to the high-speed chase. The court docket hadn’t been updated as of 11:30 a.m. on June 23 and doesn’t note whether Read may be released on bond.
Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FHP arrest: Man sped over 100 mph, crashed into 8 cars during chase
Reporting by Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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By Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
