Cops: Driver attempts suicide after fleeing police, crashing

PUNTA GORDA — A driver fleeing police along Interstate 75 in Charlotte County apparently attempted to die by suicide after crashing in North Fort Myers.

He is in critical condition, authorities stated.

According to a news release from Florida Highway Patrol, authorities attempted to pull over the driver of a 2010 Toyota Corolla about 11:35 p.m. Monday along southbound I-75 near Mile Marker 153, about five miles south of Tucker’s Grade.

The driver was going about 100 mph at the initiation of the traffic stop and “fled the attempted traffic stop at a high rate of speed,” according to the news release.

He exited at State Road 82/Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Fort Myers, fleeing “recklessly,” it stated.

“The Toyota struck a curb, spun out and came to a stop on Colonial Boulevard, east of State Road 82,” it stated. “As troopers approached the Toyota, they observed the driver / sole occupant ...slumped over in the driver’s seat, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

The identity of the driver was given as a 23-year-old man from Lehigh Acres.

“Troopers rendered aid on scene, and the driver was transported to Gulf Coast Hospital by EMS in critical condition,” it stated. “The incident remains under investigation.”