Police: Driver rams cruiser, sending Collier deputy to hospital

EAST NAPLES, Fla. — A driver intentionally crashed his car into a Collier County Sheriff’s Office cruiser as part of a chase early Tuesday morning near the intersection of Rattlesnake Hammock and County Barn roads, authorities said.

The deputy inside the cruiser was taken to the hospital to be checked out and is in unknown condition. The driver of the car was arrested on suspicion of DUI and is facing a felony charge of aggravated fleeing and eluding, the sheriff’s office said. Neither has been identified.

The driver was checked out by emergency medical personnel on the scene, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office received a call about a reckless driver in the area at about 2:45 a.m., and shortly thereafter the deputy tried to pull over the driver of a black Nissan Sentra. The driver instead took off at 70 mph and began doing donuts in the intersection before crashing into the cruiser, as police detailed.

The Sentra also ran into a utility pole before the deputy was able to track it down.