Police chase and crash leads to prison sentence of Fort Myers man

Diante Davis, 22, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for multiple charges involving a short police chase and eventually crashing into a Fort Myers Police Department patrol vehicle in October 2018.

Davis pled guilty to Fleeing and Eluding a Law Enforcement Officer at a High Speed or Wanton Disregard, No Driver’s License, Resisting/Obstructing an Officer without Violence and Leaving the Scene of a Crash. He pled shortly before a jury was about to be picked for trial.

It all happened when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of American Avenue and Dupree Street. Fort Myers Police Officers doing community policing and traffic enforcement turned on their emergency lights and siren and tried to pull Davis over.

Instead of stopping his car he drove into a nearby driveway, across a lawn and through a field. As he drove back onto the street, a second Fort Myers Police Officer in a patrol car also tried to get him to stop. Officers were in pursuit for less than a block when the defendant swerved and crashed into the driver’s side of the second patrol car and then drove his car into a ditch hitting a concrete culvert.

The defendant got out and ran but was quickly apprehended by officers near the scene of the crash. The officer who was driving the car Davis drove into luckily was not injured. Assistant State Attorneys Ronald Dente Jr. and Christine Cummins handled the case