A 22-year-old Palm Coast man was arrested Friday evening after leading a Florida sheriff on a six-mile chase at speeds reaching 125 mph on Interstate 95.
Shortly before 5 p.m., Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly was driving south on I-95 just past the State Road 100 exit in an unmarked agency vehicle. He was off-duty and on his way to a dinner meeting with his wife when a white 2016 Dodge Challenger with black racing stripes passed him at high speed.
Using his car’s certified speedometer, Staly paced the Challenger at speeds between 115 and 125 mph over nearly six miles. During that time, the vehicle continually swerved across all three lanes and passed other cars within three to four feet of their rear bumpers.
Staly turned on his lights and siren, and the driver eventually pulled off the highway just south of Old Dixie Highway in Volusia County.
The driver, identified as Arul Nayak, turned off his car, placed his keys on the roof, and was taken into custody without incident. Three passengers were riding in the car at the time. Passing motorists who had previously been cut off honked their horns as deputies handled the arrest.
Nayak, who has no prior criminal record, told the sheriff he had a final pilot’s exam scheduled for Saturday and was hoping to get out of jail in time to take it.
“Driving 125 miles per hour and weaving through three lanes of traffic isn’t a mistake, it’s a decision to gamble with everyone else’s life, including the three passengers sitting in his own car,” Sheriff Staly said. “This wanna-be pilot was flying fast and low, but he wasn’t in an airplane and this wasn’t his final exam.”
Nayak was arrested on charges of willful and wanton reckless driving alongside a violation of Florida’s super speeder law. Because the traffic stop ended across county lines, he was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he was held on a $500 bond.
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