Deputies: 19-year-old leads troopers on chase in stolen car on I-75

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published:
Joshua Pagan (Credit: CCSO booking photo)

A 19-year-old Bradenton man is behind bars in Collier County after authorities say he led them on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle on I-75.

A report from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office says they notified the Florida Highway Patrol that a license plate reader had located a stolen 2014 Chevrolet Impala on eastbound I-75. A trooper spotted the car and tried to pull it over, but the driver accelerated to over 100 mph, passing several vehicles before entering Broward County.

At one point, the driver drove onto the shoulder to pass several slower vehicles and eventually exited at Snake Road, ran the stop sign, and lost control of the vehicle, sideswiping a traffic control post. The driver then attempted to head back onto I-75, but a Miccosukee police officer had blocked the entrance ramp, causing the driver to attempt to drive around the blockage and get stuck in the mud in the embankment.

As another Miccosukee officer approached the car, the driver was trying to “rock his way out of the mud,” according to the CCSO report. A 16-year-old girl in the car was the lone passenger and got out of the vehicle when officers approached.

The driver, identified as Joshua Peter Pagan, told officers there was a gun under the driver’s seat. The gun was listed as stolen, according to the report. A pink Taser that belonged to the girl was also found in the car.

Pagan is facing charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, reckless driving, grand theft of a firearm, use or display of a firearm during a felony, child endangerment without great bodily harm, and flee and elude with disregard to persons or property. Pagan was also cited with a traffic infraction for a violation of driving on a learner’s license.

He remains in the Collier County Jail.

The 16-year-old girl was released to a guardian.

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