PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — An 18-year-old from Brooksville is behind bars after he allegedly led authorities on a car chase while intoxicated, resulting in a Florida High Patrol trooper using a PIT maneuver to stop him.
According to Port Richey Police, the incident happened early Monday morning. An officer was trying to stop a white pickup truck driven by 18-year-old Juelius Matusiak in the area of Grand Boulevard and Queener Avenue because of speeding, the department said.
However, Matusiak "refused" to stop and proceeded to nearly drive off the roadway several times. After that, he ran a red light at U.S. 19 and Grand Boulevard and turned south in the northbound lanes.
While leading authorities on a chase, Matusiak crossed the bridge into New Port Richey, resulting in New Port Richey Police joining the pursuit.
The chase lasted between 20 and 30 minutes, according to Port Richey Police, covering multiple jurisdictions across Pasco County.
Eventually, an FHP trooper was able to use a PIT maneuver to stop Matusiak at the intersection of State Road 54. A video shared by FHP on Instagram shows the moments a trooper used the maneuver to stop Matusiak. The video shows the pickup truck repeatedly trying to get away from multiple law enforcement vehicles that were in pursuit with their lights flashing.
It took several tries to successfully stop him, the video showed.
Matusiak was charged with the following, according to Port Richey Police: Four counts of fleeing to elude, three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, one count of not having a valid driver's license and one count of DUI.
Port Richey Police said an FHP trooper was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.