A 23-year-old man with current warrants was arrested Tuesday morning in The Villages after reportedly fleeing a traffic stop and colliding head-on with a Sumter County school bus.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office reports that all 19 students on the bus were unharmed in the crash.
The incident began around 7:20 a.m., when a deputy conducting school zone traffic enforcement in front of The Villages Intermediate Center observed a vehicle allegedly speeding 17 mph over the legal speed limit on County Road 466 near Tatonka Terrace.
As the deputy did a U-turn and turned on his emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop, the motorist, identified as Qahiem Williams, reportedly accelerated and side-swiped two vehicles at a traffic light. The contact damaged Williams’ vehicle’s axle, causing him to reportedly smash head-on with Sumter County school bus #7818 on County Road 103.
Following the incident, Williams allegedly abandoned his vehicle and attempted to flee to a nearby Walmart, but he was shortly discovered by law officials and arrested.
After being medically cleared, Williams was taken to the Sumter County Detention Center. He was arrested without bond on allegations of escaping law enforcement, driving with a suspended license, possession of marijuana, and leaving the scene of a crash.
The sheriff’s office also reported that Williams had two outstanding Sumter County warrants for fleeing to escape and driving with a suspended license. Additional charges are pending.
“I have zero tolerance for actions that endanger our children’s lives,” Sheriff Pat Breeden stated in a statement. “This suspect has a history of this type of behavior and our community is safer with him off our streets.”
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