Deputy loses 10 vacation days in car chase with fatal crash

A Lake County deputy was docked 10 days of vacation as punishment after a car chase he initiated in April resulted in a fleeing suspect killing a Winter Garden teen, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

An internal inquest concluded Cpl. Josh Creech violated the car chase policy enacted last year after a pursuit left a pregnant woman and an innocent driver dead.

The chase began about 1 a.m. April 10 when Creech noticed the driver of a 2016 Ford Mustang failing to stop completely for a turn onto U.S. Highway 27, the report said. He switched on his siren lights when the car abruptly made a U-turn in the opposite direction, then turned back onto Washington Street in the wrong direction.

Creech “disengaged” with the driver, turning off his lights and ending the pursuit, the report said. At that point, policy dictates that he and other deputies should not only stop, but drive in the opposite direction. He told investigators he followed the car into a cul-de-sac on Park Trail Court, when it turned and drove past him. Using his radio, he told other deputies in the area the car meant to hit him “head on.” Dashcam footage investigators reviewed showed the Mustang was a “car width” away from Creech and passed him before he left his vehicle.

Wilvenson Darius, 23, the Mustang’s driver, eventually got onto State Road 50 heading east with deputies pursuing him in excess of 100 mph, the report said. Creech told his lieutenant via radio that his speed was about 50 mph, but 11 seconds later he was going 116 mph, the report said. As Darius approached the Orange County line, Creech called off the chase.

But about a half-mile down S.R. 50, Darius collided with a 1998 Nissan, killing the driver, Carlos Sanchez Santiago, 19, the report said. Darius was found and arrested with fraudulent drivers licenses and a handgun.

Lake policy doesn’t allow deputies to chase suspects in their vehicles for traffic violations and misdemeanors. Pursuits are permitted only for violent felonies and cases where there is imminent danger.