Barricaded driver found dead inside RV after negotiations shut down Central Florida highway
By Amanda Dukes
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CLERMONT, Florida (WESH) — A major Central Florida road was shut down early Wednesday morning as officials attempted to negotiate with a subject barricaded inside an RV on U.S. Highway 27 at Lake Louisa State Park.
U.S. Highway 27 was closed in both directions.
“What we heard was, repeatedly, ‘come out of the car with your hands up!’” said Tony Mojica, who lives near the scene.
Deputies said the man they were trying to coax out of the RV was eventually found inside the vehicle, dead of what appeared to be a suicidal drug overdose.
The incident started just after 2 a.m. when they attempted to make a traffic stop on the RV in Leesburg.
The driver refused to stop and the pursuit that followed went for over 30 miles.
“They attempted multiple traffic stops at which time the RV accelerated. At some point, it started to drive erratically, even going opposite against traffic and that’s when they decided to utilize the stop sticks,” said Fred Jones, who is a spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The RV was disabled just north of Lake Luisa State Park as traffic on US 27 was ground to a halt.
“We would appreciate they open the road soon, soon as possible, so we can go back to work,” truck driver Juan Dominguez said.
Negotiators tried to communicate with the man in the RV but had no luck.
In the meantime, a 911 call was made by an anonymous woman to report the man in the RV was overdosing.
“With that information, the SWAT team did breach the vehicle at which time they found the subject dead,” Jones said.
The incident was not just an inconvenience for drivers on 27 but also for people who live in the area who say they were awoken early Wednesday morning by all the noise and flashing lights.
“The whole thing was scary,” Mojica said.
Deputies say there were never any shots fired during the incident.
The RV was removed from the scene by midday.
It’s believed the RV was stolen from Flagler County several weeks ago.
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