Deputies clock driver at 105 mph on Suncoast Parkway
SPRING HILL — A driver was arrested July 18 after deputies clocked him at 105 mph in a 70 mph zone on the Suncoast Parkway, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said.
A deputy assigned to the agency’s traffic unit spotted the northbound vehicle and confirmed the speed on radar, the sheriff’s office said.
Rodney Watkins, 60, was taken to the Hernando County Detention Center. His vehicle was towed from the scene.
Two men charged with racing on Spring Hill Drive
SPRING HILL — Two drivers were charged with racing on a highway after a deputy saw their vehicles accelerate side by side on Spring Hill Drive near Deering Avenue, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said.
The deputy, assigned to the agency’s traffic unit, clocked both vehicles at 73 mph in a 45 mph zone on July 18, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Gus Panos, 22, and Kyle Eicher, 18, were charged with racing on a highway, a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida law.
Bicyclist hurt in hit-and-run; missing boy found safe
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents over the previous weekend:
• A bicyclist was hospitalized with severe facial injuries after being struck from behind by a vehicle overnight. The bicyclist told deputies he lost consciousness in roadside brush and walked home the next morning. The driver did not stop. Deputies turned the case over to the Florida Highway Patrol, which is leading the investigation.
• A woman told deputies her partner held her down, choked her and kept her from calling 911 during an argument. Deputies reported seeing injuries consistent with her account and arrested the man.
• A boy who left his home on a bicycle without telling his parents returned on his own a short time after deputies began searching for him. Deputies reported he was not hurt.
Five turned over to ICE after Hernando Beach traffic stop
Five people taken into custody during a traffic stop July 18 near Shoal Line Boulevard and Bluefish Drive have been turned over to federal immigration authorities, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said.
The driver presented a Mexican passport, and the other occupants showed identification from Mexico and Nicaragua, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and agents interviewed all five.
ICE determined that all five were in the country illegally, according to the sheriff’s office. They were booked into the Hernando County Detention Center and placed on immigration detainers before being transferred to an ICE facility in Tampa.