Fleeing/DUI Arrest: 3/5/24

This morning, deputies were alerted to a reckless driver in a red Chevy pickup on I-95 near Oak Hill. FHP troopers attempted a traffic stop on the truck, but it fled at high speed. Sheriff Mike Chitwood located the truck heading northbound on 95 just south of U.S. 92 and coordinated with deputies in the area to deploy stop sticks. Sgt. Stone deployed a set of stop sticks which hit the truck's front bumper. While they didn't deflate the tires, the driver did pull over, and was removed from the cab by Sheriff Chitwood. The driver was identified as Michael A. Pierce (age 27, DOB 9/6/1996) of Fleetwater, Pennsylvania. He appeared to be extremely impaired, unsteady and incoherent. Inside the truck, deputies found 17 Xanax pills, 5.2 g crack cocaine and several bloody syringes with a rubber strap. Pierce was charged with DUI, possession of crack cocaine, possession of alprazolam and possession of narcotics paraphernalia, in addition to charges from FHP and New Smyrna Beach PD. A criminal history and warrants check showed 5 open but non-extraditable warrants and 2 pending DUI cases out of Pennsylvania.