- April 18, 2024
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Earlier this month, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Flagler Beach Police Department, and the Bunnell Police Department, announced that they would be combining efforts to participate in Operations TIDES, a countywide traffic operation focusing on deterring Texting while driving, Impaired driving, driving while Distracted or Exhausted, and Speeding.
During the operation, the agencies reported making a total of 97 traffic stops resulting in 5 Criminal Citations, 27 Non-Criminal Citations, 71 Written Warnings, and two arrests.
“The unity of the law enforcement agencies in Flagler County to make our roadways safer will only help our incredible community,” said Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney.
While there is a high concentration of efforts across multiple agencies for Operation TIDES, the FCSO remains vigilant 365 days a year on roadways in Flagler County. For example, on March 30, FCSO Deputy Nunziato, a member of the FCSO Traffic Unit, observed a red sports car traveling at 124 mph in a 60 mph speed zone on SR 100.
Deputy Nunziato activated the lights and sirens on his marked agency Harley Davidson motorcycle but the driver, later identified as 18-yeard-old Jayden Donohue, made no attempt to stop and continued at a high rate of speed and driving in an extremely reckless manner with total disregard for anyone’s safety.
The vehicle eventually came to a stop on County Road 302. When questioned, Donohue admitted that he was on vacation from North Carolina and that he tried to flee from deputies to avoid ‘a big ticket.’
Donohue was arrested, transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, and charged with Fleeing and Eluding an Officer with Disregard for the Safety of Others. He is held on a $5,000.00 bond.
The vehicle was towed and Donohue’s juvenile passenger was released from the scene to a family member.
Footage of the arrest can be viewed here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fvohz9bXzYLjKmVTo_BmJi6dl3dUPJsj/view?usp=sharing
“I want to thank all of the agencies who are partnering with us and our deputies on the success of Operation T.I.D.E.S. so far,” Sheriff Staly said. “Reckless driving behaviors are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated in Flagler County. We look forward to continuing to work together with Bunnell PD, Flagler Beach PD, and the Florida Highway Patrol in future operations to change the tides in Flagler!”
In 2020, Flagler County experienced an increase in fatal crashes and crashes with injuries and the data revealed the majority of the crashes occurred on state roads. The focus for the operation will be state roads including Interstate 95, US-1, SR-11, SR-100, and SR-A1A. A joint operation is planned for each month in 2021.
