Stolen SUV Full of Teens Sparks Wild FHP Chase

Incident Report (redacted): On March 6, 2025, at approximately 1:28 AM, I (Trooper P. Reich, was sitting stationary eastbound on Interstate 4, near Mile Marker 64. Trooper B. Webster advised over the radio that the Polk County Sheriff's Office was in pursuit of a stolen vehicle traveling eastbound on I-4 near Mile Marker 60. I observed the gray SUV passing my location at an extremely high rate of speed, with two PCSO marked patrol cars, with lights and sirens active, in pursuit of the vehicle.

I took over the primary position in the pursuit near MM68 in my marked Florida Highway Patrol car, with my agency insignia, and lights and sirens active. I notified dispatch of the Florida tag attached to the vehicle. The vehicle was confirmed stolen out of Osceola County.

The SUV began making erratic evasive maneuvers in an attempt to evade me. The SUV accelerated to an extreme speed of 120 miles per hour while swerving in and out of traffic, showing a true wanton disregard for the surrounding public safety and the children inside the vehicle.

The SUV swerved to the right and entered a marked construction zone near Mile Marker 70, colliding with traffic cones. It swerved to the left to re-enter the travel lanes to avoid colliding with a piece of construction equipment, almost losing control. At this time, I attempted a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) to no avail. The SUV again accelerated to a high rate of speed in an attempt to evade me.

The SUV continued to travel east on Interstate 4. While approaching each exit ramp, the SUV appeared to use the exit ramp and re-enter the mainline in an attempt to lure me onto the exit ramp to evade me.

Just west of the second red light, I attempted a PIT on the SUV on the right side, where the SUV partially began to rotate clockwise. The driver overcorrected to the left, causing the SUV to rotate counterclockwise. While the SUV was rotating counterclockwise, I was able to observe a white male in the driver's seat through the un-tinted driver's window.

The driver gained control of the SUV and continued traveling west in the eastbound lanes of Lee Road, approaching Diplomat Circle. The SUV traveled through Diplomat Circle and began to negotiate a left curve. While negotiating the left curve, the SUV attempted to split between two approaching vehicles traveling east, causing the SUV to sideswipe one vehicle and collide head-on with another. During the collisions, an occupant of the evading SUV was ejected and later transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in extremely critical condition.

The SUV came to a final rest in the eastbound lanes. I exited my patrol vehicle and assisted the PCSO to remove the occupants of the SUV. I observed the same white male being removed from the driver's seat as the one I observed during the PIT maneuver. Shortly after everyone was removed from the vehicle, it was determined that all five passengers were under the age of 18, with the youngest being 13 years old.

At approximately 2:50 AM, the driver of the SUV was arrested and identified by his name and date of birth. The driver advised his name was Christopher Lee Smith and his date of birth was 04/12/2007, claiming he was 17 years old. Mr. Smith was transported to ORMC. Upon my arrival at ORMC, SRCC advised they had located Mr. Smith's Florida identification card. It was at this time that I confirmed the date of birth Mr. Smith provided was incorrect, intentionally attempting to mislead me. The date of birth on the provided FL DL was 4/12/2006, which would make Mr. Smith 18 years old, not 17 years old as he initially claimed.

At 4:38 AM, I read Mr. Smith the Miranda rights from my agency-issued pre-printed card. I asked if he understood the rights I had read to him, and he nodded his head in the affirmative. I continued to ask Mr. Smith questions. Mr. Smith admitted that he was aware he was being pursued by law enforcement because he observed the blue lights in his rearview mirror and heard the sirens. Mr. Smith also advised that his passengers were telling him to continue fleeing "from the cops."

All events started in Polk County, briefly entered Osceola County, and ended in Orange County. Mr. Smith was medically cleared and transported to the Orange County Jail for booking and processing.

Subsequently, Mr. Smith is being charged with the following statutes:

F.S.S. 316.1935(2) - Fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement
F.S.S. 316.192(2) - Reckless Driving
(Five Counts) F.S.S. 827.03(2): During the entire pursuit, Mr. Smith's extreme reckless driving put all occupants of the SUV in danger. Mr. Smith's actions were reasonably expected to result in physical or mental injury to the minors in the vehicle.
F.S.S. 901.36(1) - Providing false identification to law enforcement:
F.S.S. 812.014 - Grand theft of a motor vehicle
F.S.S. 322.03(1) - Operating a motor vehicle without a valid license

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