Man arrested after leading high-speed chase from Collier to Lee County

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published:
Charles Edward Williams – Photo courtesy of Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

A man was arrested after a high-speed chase that started in Collier County and ended in Lee County.

On Thursday, Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Charles Edward Williams, 25, after he fled deputies and police in Lee and Collier counties.

According to the CCSO arrest report, a Collier County sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a stolen silver Ford Fusion. CCSO’s helicopter tracked the car, as it drove onto an exit ramp on I-75 from Golden Gate Parkway going the wrong way. The air unit told CCSO the Ford made a U-turn and came back up the exit ramp the correct way.

That’s when the CCSO deputy saw the same stolen Ford drive toward his cruiser with no lights on. The Ford was speeding toward the deputy’s cruiser when the deputy turned his emergency lights on. The deputy identified a black female passenger and black male driver in the Ford.

The deputy saw the Ford move westbound on Golden Gate Pkwy in the eastbound lane, forcing two other cars to stop. The Ford got onto the I-75 north on ramp, and the deputy followed it with the patrol car sirens on. The Ford traveled at speeds that reached upwards of 125 miles per hour.

The deputy followed the Ford on northbound I-75 from Golden Gate Pkwy. exit 105 to I-75 Immokalee Road exit 111. The Deputy said the Ford continue to drive on the interstate without headlights, and he lost visual and let the CCSO helicopter continue to track the Ford.

The same deputy was sent to Lee County when it was reported Fort Myers Police Department and Lee County Sheriff’s Office found the Ford and the driver still fleeing from FMPD.

According to the CCSO report, when the deputy arrived, Williams was under arrest and in the back of an LCSO patrol car of the responding deputy, facing multiple criminal charges.

Williams faces charges for Fleeing Or Attempting To Elude a Law Enforcement Officer and multiple other charges between LCSO and CCSO, including driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of a hit-and-run.

According to the Lee arrest page, Edwards is in Lee County Jail with bond reaching $7,000.

The female passenger the deputy saw in the Ford with Williams was not detailed further in the report.

Trust WINK News to update you as more information becomes available. 

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