Suspect accused of leading Plant City police on chase that ended in deadly multi-vehicle crash arrested
LAKELAND, Fla. - A Plant City man is facing charges after police say he led them on a chase that ended in a chain reaction crash that killed one person and injured several others.
According to Captain Alfred Van Duyne of the Plant City Police Department, the agency got a phone call around 9:35 a.m. on Thursday about a woman who was possibly being held against her will inside a vehicle.
He said that dispatchers believed they heard a woman had been stabbed as the call was coming in.
According to Van Duyne, police were able to track down the suspect, later identified as 50-year-old James Edward Gougeon III, using phone pings.
He said an officer tried to Gougeon to pull over, but he did not stop, and the officer chased him.
Police say the chase went through several Plant City streets before the suspect got on I-4 eastbound.
Aerial view of the multi-vehicle crash in Lakeland.
According to Van Duyne, police stopped chasing the suspect's vehicle before it got off the interstate, but it was located a short time later in Lakeland.
That’s when Van Duyne said police began chasing it again. He said the female passenger was able to escape from the vehicle, but the driver kept going and eventually crashed at Frontage Road and Harden Boulevard, near Polk Parkway.
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According to the Lakeland Police Department, the crash, which happened shortly after 10 a.m., involved 11 people inside eight vehicles.
LPD says Gougeon ran a red light and slammed into a Ford SUV, which was traveling eastbound on South Frontage Road and trying to turn left. A gray Subaru was turning left in the lane next to the Ford SUV and was damaged by debris from the collision.
Police say the deadly crash involved 11 people in eight vehicles.
Post-impact, officers say Gougeon kept going, hit a raised concrete median, and crashed into a dark-colored Ford SUV. That SUV was pushed eastbound and hit a gray Volkswagen and a gray Honda. The Honda then hit a black Chrysler and a blue Chevrolet.
The driver of the dark-colored Ford SUV was taken to an area hospital and died from her injuries.
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"They were just an unfortunate, innocent victim," Van Duyne said.
Officials say Gougeon tried to run away from the crash scene but was taken into custody by Plant City and Lakeland police officers.
Gougeon and a passenger in the SUV he initially hit were taken to an area hospital for minor injuries. The driver of the gray Honda took himself to an area hospital and was treated for minor injuries.
James Edward Gougeon III mugshot courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
"Pursuits are dangerous," Van Duyne stated. "However, we have policies that specify when we can pursue, and if it meets the criteria, then a pursuit is initiated and there are many factors that go into the decision of the supervisors that are working at that time."
Though Van Duyne was not able to confirm if the woman had been stabbed, he said if the woman was stabbed it would have been an aggravated assault or aggravated battery, which means the situation would have met the criteria for a police chase.
Gougeon was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping while committing a felony, tampering with a witness, fleeing to elude, and driving with a license that had been canceled, suspended, or revoked in connection with the crimes that took place in Plant City.
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He has also been charged with fleeing to elude with reckless high speed involving injury or death, knowingly driving on a suspended license with three or more offenses, leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, and leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage.
Gougeon was also cited for careless driving, expired tag/registration of less than six months, and failure to stop at a steady red signal.
The roadway was shut down for about 7 ½ hours while officials investigated.
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