Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Bret Wood Injured in Crash Caused By Fleeing Hit and Run Suspect

A Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy was injured today when his motorcycle crashed while attempting to apprehend a fleeing driver from a previous crash. The fleeing driver got away in what amounted to two successive hit and run incidents.

Deputy Bret Wood, a deputy on a motorcycle unit, responded to the scene of a crash at State Road 100 and Interstate 95. The scene had resulted in a reported disturbance. As the deputy was speaking with one of the parties involved, a car was leaving the scene. The other party told the deputy that was the vehicle that had struck him.

Wood then attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, an older model white Buick Rendezvous with a South Carolina license plate, as it entered the on-ramp for I-95 South. “As deputy Wood told me at the scene, kI lit him up,’ or he turned on all his lights.l

The vehicle stopped abruptly, causing Wood, a veteran with the force, to take evasive action and lose control of his motorcycle, striking the pavement. The vehicle then fled the scene. Deputy Wood suffered non-life threatening injuries to his chin, chest and arms.

Sheriff Rick Staly arrived at the crash scene to check on Wood as he was being placed in the ambulance to be transported to Florida Hospital Flagler.

Staly said Wood was bleeding “pretty significantly” at the scene, and was thought to require stitches. “Fortunately he was wearing his helmet properly, the hit he took on his head cracked the inside of his helmet.” He said it could have been a lot worse.

Wood is expected to make a full recovery.

As for the fleeing vehicle, the Sheriff said deputies have some leads, but no tag number.