Fleeing Florida motorcyclist flips off police before getting hit by truck
By: A Florida motorcyclist is facing multiple charges after he blew through a red light while fleeing from local police and flipping them off seconds before getting T-boned by an oncoming truck.
"Here's a good way to get yourself killed," the Volusia County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post.
The three-minute video shared by police shows Deputy Bissonnete attempt to pull over a group of motorcyclists who were "popping wheelies" late on Friday, March 3. The group ignored authorities requests to pull over and decided to speed off, leading police on a high-speed chase.
Dashcam footage shows the group of motorcyclists recklessly weaving in between cars at a high speed. When approaching a red light, the group ignored it and continued fleeing from deputies.
One of the motorcyclists, Joshua Richardson, looked back and flipped police the bird before continuing to travel into the intersection – directly into the path of an oncoming truck.
Richardson miraculously survived the crash and briefly attempted to run on foot before he was apprehended by police.
On body camera footage released by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Richardson is seen writhing on the ground and telling deputies he is in a lot of pain.
"I'm hurt," Richardson is heard saying as he lies on the ground while deputies handcuff him.
"Idiot," one of the deputies said.
"I know," Richardson responded.
After deputies handcuffed him, Richardson is heard in bodycam footage complaining with police.
"You know how your leg doesn't get hurt?" one of the deputies asked. "You don't run from the cops and crash your bike."
"Do you think this is funny?" Richardson asked.
"No, I don't think it's funny. It's incredibly stupid," another deputy responded.
"We're being chased by 12 cops in the middle of nowhere. What am I supposed to do?" Richardson asked.
"Stop and figure out why we're chasing you," the deputies stated.
Richardson was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, resisting without violence, and leaving the scene of a crash. He is also receiving traffic citations for failure to stop at a red light and passing in a no-pass zone.
The Volusia Sheriff's Office did not share if the truck driver or any of the passengers in the vehicle were injured, or if the other reckless motorcyclists were apprehended.