PANAMA CITY BEACH — Two deputies were taken to a local hospital after an Indiana teenager’s car struck one deputy and rammed two Bay County Sheriff’s Office vehicles late Wednesday night, according to official reports.
A uniformed deputy witnessed what he suspected was a drug deal in the Spinnaker Beach Club parking lot at 8795 Thomas Drive about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday. Deputy Steve O’Brien approached a red 1995 Honda Civic when the car sped off, struck the deputy and caused him to roll up and off the car’s hood, according to BCSO spokeswoman Ruth Corley.
Deputies began pursuing the suspect, later identified as 19-year-old Braeshawn Boyd of New Albany, Ind., as the car headed east on Thomas Drive without its headlights on, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.
Boyd’s vehicle continued until it ran over a concrete curb, bursting the rear tire and causing Boyd to lose control of the car, FHP reported.
The car careened to a halt on the north side of Thomas Drive, where deputies tried to block the car from escaping. However, Boyd was able to crank the car and accelerate around one BCSO vehicle, then crash into two other BCSO vehicles, Corley said.
FHP reports estimate a combined $3,500 in damage to the BCSO patrol vehicles. Deputies Ryan Robbins and Douglas Smith will have to undergo treatment for shoulder and knee injuries from the collision, Corley said.
Boyd was taken to the Bay County Jail after being treated by EMS for injuries he sustained during a struggle with deputies prior to his arrest. He was charged with three counts of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, two counts of felony criminal mischief, two counts of resisting an officer with violence, resisting an officer without violence, three counts of aggravated assault, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and disorderly conduct, BCSO reported.
The deputies were treated and released Thursday with nonlife-threatening injuries.