[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 01/06/20]
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UMATILLA, Florida — A man carrying drugs fled from Umatilla Police Friday afternoon and crashed into another driver, causing her to be airlifted for her injuries.
Around 12:15 p.m. Friday, a Umatilla Police officer was on Wafford Street approaching the intersection of Lake Shore Avenue when he saw a silver car in front of him. A check of the tag revealed the registered owner, David Demarius Quashie, 28, of Eustis had a suspended driver license and a warrant for his arrest.
The officer activated his lights and the vehicle sped up, according to an arrest affidavit. The officer turned on his sirens and the vehicle began to go even faster; the officer then realized the driver was not going to stop and deactivated his lights and sirens and slowed down, he noted in the affidavit.
As the officer was turning around, he saw the silver car crash into another car at County Road 450A and Pine Street. The driver of the other vehicle was airlifted due to the injuries she sustained in the crash, the affidavit states. Her condition was unknown at press time.
The officer approached the silver car and found Quashie in the driver’s seat with a crystal-like substance on his lap and in the seat. A bag of methamphetamine was found in the seat next to him, along with six grams of marijuana in his left front pocket. A search of the car found, cocaine and several unidentified substances.
Quashie was taken to the hospital for his injuries and later booked into the Lake County Jail. He was charged with fleeing and eluding-causing injury, possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and violation of probation. (The VOP warrant relates back to a leaving the scene of an accident charge Quashie pled to just last year.) He is being held on no bond on the VOP and $15,000 on the other charges.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
