Daytona Beach, FL - Police in Daytona Beach are actively investigating a crash that claimed the life of one driver and sent the other to the hospital with serious injuries.
According to the Daytona Beach Police Department, an officer initiated a traffic stop Sunday morning (August 30th) on 31-year-old Nyshon Bennett after he reportedly ran a stop sign near South Caroline Street and Cedar Street.
Bennett, the sole occupant of a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, then fled from the officer headed southbound at a high rate of speed. DBPD says the officer who attempted the traffic stop terminated it and disabled his lights and sirens after Bennett sped off.
The vehicle then continued onto South Street from Caroline and tried to cross the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and South while he had a solid red light. That's when officers say he t-boned a 2008 Acura RL, driven by 50-year-old Daniel J. Ruddell Jr., who had a green light.
The force of the impact sent the Acura spinning into a palm tree before crashing into a telephone pole, where it came to its final resting place.
After hitting Ruddell's car, Bennett's Malibu hit three other parked vehicles before coming to a stop in the middle of the road. First responders found Bennett stuck inside of his vehicle. He was rushed as a trauma alert to Halifax Health Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
Ruddell, on the other hand, passed away as a result of the crash.
DBPD says exact charges against Bennett will be determined once the investigation is complete. We'll provide updates as they are released.
