One in custody after incident in Cape Coral leads to traffic mess on I-75, south of Alico Rd

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A wild scene brought traffic on I-75, south of Alico Road in Lee County, to a halt on Wednesday.

(Credit: FDOT)

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, LCSO and the Cape Coral Police Department worked on a joint investigation that shut down the interstate. Traffic was impacted in the southbound lanes of I-75, but it has since reopened.

Police and deputies were seen with guns drawn, K-9s on the ground, and choppers in the sky. Cape Coral police and Lee County Sheriff’s deputies raced to the scene.

Cape Coral police say the incident began at the Bank of America at 2536 Skyline Blvd. Plenty of witnesses were present; when the police cars and deputy cruisers forced Linda Patti to stop her car on southbound I-75, she immediately hit record on her phone.

“And all of a sudden, they stop right there,” Patti said. “And they got him into the ditch, his car, and they all jumped out. There must have been 20 cruisers. And they had guns, the dogs, then there was helicopters, and then a helicopter landed on I-75, and another one was cruising around. And then the sheriff’s department came in and circled the Florida patrol cars.”

Patti believes a chase of some kind ended when the driver chased, crashing into a ditch. The scene scared her.

“I don’t think they send out 20 cruises and two helicopters if you’ve got a speeding ticket,” Patti said.

Patti’s video shows a helicopter landing right on I-75. She doesn’t know if the helicopter had more deputies or police on board.

I-75 scene. (Credit: Linda Patti)

“It was a fleet chase. It was in my rearview mirror. And then, like I said, when I stopped, they stopped right there,” Patti said. “They got him. And they just… I mean, by the time they apprehended him, I’m gonna guess it was probably 25 cop cars.”

Patti says she didn’t think a medical helicopter landed because officers and deputies easily confronted the suspect and took him into custody.

“And then they got the guy, whoever he was,” Patti said. “And then they started searching them, put them in a cruiser. ”

Cape Coral police say one person has been taken into custody but have not provided any more information about the suspect.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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