71-year-old driver dies in head-on crash with man fleeing deputies, FL cops say

A burglary suspect trying to outrun deputies killed an innocent motorist when he drove an SUV the wrong way on an Interstate 95 exit ramp, according to investigators in Florida.

It happened at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, near Palm Coast, and the man and two companions jumped from the SUV and ran as the other driver, a 71-year-old woman, sat dying in her crumpled car, authorities said.

The deadly chase began when three burglary suspects from St. Johns County fled south into nearby Flagler County, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

“Deputies observed this same vehicle driving southbound on Interstate 95 at a high rate of speed. … While trying to evade law enforcement, the suspect vehicle continued to weave in and out of traffic and, at one point, sideswiped an FCSO vehicle, and then continued to drive recklessly well ahead of law enforcement,” the sheriff’s office said in Facebook post.

“Upon reaching the intersection of I-95 and U.S. 1, the suspect vehicle turned left and entered the I-95 exit ramp, hitting another vehicle head-on. The suspects then fled on foot from the vehicle toward the wood line and were quickly apprehended.”

The Chevrolet Suburban was going in the wrong direction when it slammed into a 2017 Volkswagen Beetle, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a crash report.

Deputies “immediately ran” to help the 71-year-old woman in the car, but she died after being taken to a hospital in critical condition, authorities said.

Her identity has not been released. She lived in Ormond Beach, about a 25-mile drive south from Palm Coast, authorities said.

The driver of the SUV was identified as 40-year-old Stevens Charles from Miami, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The other two men in his vehicle were ages 22 and 38, troopers said. None were injured in the crash, authorities said.

An investigation into the crash is being handled by the Florida Highway Patrol, which reports Charles has been charged with:

• Fleeing and eluding law enforcement
• Two counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer resulting in a death
• Leaving the scene of a traffic crash resulting in a death
• Felony murder
• Resisting arrest without violence

The suspects were wanted for questioning in a “spree” of car burglaries in St. Johns County, Flagler County deputies said.

Palm Coast is about a 65-mile drive southeast from Jacksonville.

This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM with the headline "71-year-old driver dies in head-on crash with man fleeing deputies, FL cops say."