Last Updated: Monday, 3:31 p.m.
Brandan Ingram, a 24-year-old resident of Rolling Sands Drive in Palm Coast, was arrested early this morning and charged with leaving the scene of a crash with an injury, a felony, after allegedly racing recklessly on U.S. 1 through Bunnell and crashing into a Flagler County Sheriff’s patrol car, slightly injuring a deputy.
Ingram was first reported driving a blue sedan recklessly just after 11 p.m., south of Bunnell. Ingram, who was driving northbound with a 25-year-old woman in the passenger seat, was racing with other cars, riding too close to them, switching lanes and going at excessive speeds. His arrest report notes he was “racing through the city at more than 100 mph.”
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies prepared to deploy stock sticks. According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, at U.S. 1 and County Road 13, Ingram ran off the road into the median and entered the southbound left turn lane, where Cpl. Jacob West’s patrol car was stationary. West reported observing Ingram racing another car and going 111 mph before losing control.
Ingram’s car rotated, its left rear colliding with the patrol car’s right rear side and continuing to spin into the southbound lanes of U.S. 1 before fleeing the scene. FHP reported the 36-year-old deputy at the scene to have “minor” injuries.
The crash caused the bumper on Ingram’s car to fall at the scene, enabling authorities to trace the tag to its owner at Rolling Sands Drive. There was plenty of activity at that address when authorities arrived, and hat looked like the positioning of two vehicles to hide a third one, according to a deputy’s account. Ingram was among the people there, and conceded that he had been driving the blue vehicle. (A white Nissan he is seen painting turquoise blue on his and his girlfriend’s social media pages last month.)
Ingram told the deputy that “an orange Charger scat pack was taunting him and yelling at him with the windows down,” according to an incident report. “Brandan advised that he might’ve went a little too fast, and did crash, but did not know it was a Deputy that he hit.” His partner told a deputy she was with Ingram–and did not like him going that fast, and had to lower her head in the car from being so scared. She’d begged him to stop and report the incident. He refused, even after the crash.
Ingram faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash with an injury, a third-degree felony, reckless driving with damage to private property, and racing on the highway. After he was taken to AdventHealth Palm Coast to be cleared medically, Ingram was booked at the Flagler County jail on $3,500 bond, and remained at the jail this morning. He also faces various traffic violations. The deputy did not require hospitalization. A sheriff’s spokesman said the case remains under review.
“Endangering the lives of not only others on the road, but of those sworn to protect our community will send you straight to the Green Roof Inn every time,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Fortunately he did not seriously injure a Deputy Sheriff by his stupid actions. This guy obviously isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He gets into a high-speed wreck, colliding with a law enforcement vehicle and flees. Thankfully, he was just dumb enough to leave his license plate behind.”
TR says
Another idiot that proves you can’t fix stupid. The other thing wrong imo is the bail is to low.
A lot of these idiot young people today think they can out smart the police and out run a radio, which they can not.
MikeM says
They should have set his bond at $35K just for being an [].
Concerned Citizen says
If this isn’t a clear case that more attention is needed on traffic enforcement.
For months now I have seen several near misses on Palm Coast Pkwy. From folks cutting across and turning right on red without stopping. Then my all time favorites are the ones coming off of 95 and needing all the way over with no signaling. They just go for it. And then there are the fast moving bikes that have to be doing near 100mph.
And where is FCSO? Since the cameras went up I have not seen them like we used to. Are the cameras substituting for Patrol? If so it’s doing a poor job of it. I do continue seeing units parked off to the side chit chatting for periods of time. Perhaps if they got out and moved around in traffic it might help?
What say you Sheriff Staly?
More enforcement is needed. Besides the campaigns that periodically pop up.
Denali says
Don’t hold your breath. Traffic enforcement never has been high on the FCSO list of things to do but it has gotten markedly worse under the Staly regime. When you see Deputies playing with their phones while driving, rolling through red lights, speeding and failing to properly signal why should any of the rest of us comply with the laws.
Me too says
Exactly! I have always said that every time I see it happening….why?
Frederick Denker says
It all falls back on the person in charge of the Traffic Unit at the Sheriff’s Office. Maybe if we make enough noise with them, it will be corrected. But you also have to remember that they have to work all of the complaints they receive about side streets (which they apparently don’t work a lot either).
Jeff says
He did do a nice paint job
ASF says
If he is making money in his car painting business, then he has assets that can be–and should be–used to pay restitution.
People tend to pay more attention to what hits them in the wallet.
Jackie says
Why is this man still driving??
Jackie says
Why is this man still driving??