Man, 18, arrested after high-speed pursuit

Published 11:59 pm Wednesday, October 21, 2009

A triple-digit high-speed pursuit between a motorcycle and sheriff’s deputies landed a Red Level teenager in jail Tuesday night.

Kenneth Blake Floyd, 18, apparently led sheriff’s deputies on a chase on U.S. Hwy. 29, from just south of the Carolina community to just north of Red Level.

Sheriff Dennis Meeks said the incident began shortly after 8 p.m. when Floyd passed a deputy who was in the middle of a traffic stop and parked along the roadway.

“Deputy Jeff Daniels was somewhere in the midst of a traffic stop on 29 South when Mr. Floyd (allegedly) flew by him at a high rate of speed,” Meeks said. “When Deputy Daniels attempted to pursue, Mr. Floyd traveled up 29 and through Andalusia along the west bypass, through River Falls and continued north of Red Level and finally onto Pigeon Creek Road.”

Meeks said other deputies joined in the pursuit; however, it was called off somewhere near Pigeon Creek when deputies lost sight of Floyd.

“Apparently when (Mr. Floyd) lost sight of the officers, he hid his motorcycle in the woods and fled,” he said.

Meeks said deputies maintained patrols in the area and were later able to apprehend Floyd at a Red Level residence after concerned citizens contacted dispatch to report his location. Floyd’s motorcycle was later found in a wooded area around Pigeon Creek Church.

Floyd, who was out on bond on a minor in consumption charge from earlier this month, is now charged with attempting to elude police, three counts of reckless endangerment and numerous other traffic offenses. He was booked into the county jail under a $12,000 bond.

“The number of law enforcement officers involved in this chase and the locations, which are some of the most populated streets in Andalusia, as well as a residential area in River Falls, made this a very dangerous situation when combined with the excessive rate of speed,” Meeks said. “This whole situation could have ended very differently not only for him but also the other innocent people on the roadways.”