St Johns County deputy returns fire killing armed suspect

Historic City News has been informed that three St Johns County deputy sheriffs have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting death of an armed driver believed to have committed at least two hit-and-run crashes in Flagler county midday on Wednesday.

Shortly after 2:00 pm, the Sheriff’s Office received a call from Flagler County to report that a reckless driver, allegedly involved in two hit-and-run crashes, had entered our county.  A deputy spotted the vehicle near Crescent Beach along SR-A1A at SR-206.  According to the report, he was “driving erratically and running people off the road”.

Attempts to stop the pickup truck failed as the driver continued to encounter heavy traffic — including head-on vehicles driving on the opposite side of the roadway.  Deputies continued the pursuit which extended to the area of SR-206 and CR-305.  The reckless driver traveled from SR-206 to SR-207.

He turned onto a dead-end road, drove through a private yard, crashed through a fence, and intentionally rammed a deputy’s patrol vehicle.  The fugitive’s truck re-entered SR-207, driving on the wrong side of the road.

The chase ended when the pickup attempted to turn onto Don Manuel Road.  The driver of the pickup truck lost control of the vehicle and crashed into an abandoned school bus stored on private property.

As the driver exited the truck, he produced a handgun and fired at the officers.  One of those officers is believed to be St Johns County law enforcement deputy, Andrew M Huskey.  Sources close to the case informed Historic City News that Huskey, who has been on the department since December 2012, returned fire, killing the driver at the scene.

The three deputies, who have not been identified by the sheriff’s department, were not injured in the exchange, according to a published press release.  After an officer-involved shooting, paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation is standard procedure.  The identification of the driver will be released pending confirmation of his identity and notification of next of kin. The investigation is ongoing.