Florida Teen Charged With Assaulting Officers After Allegedly Crashing into FHP Car on New Year's Eve

An 18-year-old man's New Year's Eve flight from law enforcement culminated in a vehicular clash with a Florida Highway Patrol trooper's car. According to CBS12, during an approximately 5 p.m. chase on I-95, the teen, identified as Dominic Joseph Guerrisi, made attempts to avoid capture that resulted in this dangerous confrontation.

Initial pursuit began after Guerrisi was reported for making suicidal threats. Despite the trooper's loss of visual contact and consequent termination of the pursuit, dispatchers tracked the vehicle exiting onto US 1 and traveling south. As the situation developed, an FHP trooper witnessed Guerrisi speeding past a marked unit, leading to a pursuit that saw the teen weaving dangerously through traffic and eventually crashing into the trooper's car after driving on the incorrect side of the road, First Coast News reports.

Following the collision, which authorities described as "intentional," Guerrisi was arrested with assistance from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Both he and the troopers involved were hospitalized for injuries from the incident, but have since been released. In the aftermath, Guerrisi faces charges including two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, assault on an law enforcement officer, and one count of fleeing and eluding, First Coast News detailed.