NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A 32-year-old Hollywood man was arrested after Florida Highway Patrol troopers say he fled the scene of a crash on Interstate 95, resisted arrest and punched a trooper during a struggle on Wednesday.
The suspect, identified as James Preston McDowell, faces four counts of resisting an officer without violence and one count each of aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer with a weapon causing great bodily harm, fleeing or eluding police after an accident with injuries, and leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, according to jail records.
Troopers said the incident happened Thursday evening on I-95 north of Northwest 135th Street.
They said a trooper was working an off-duty detail when a driver flagged him down, saying his car had been hit by another vehicle that was trying to flee.
Troopers then spotted McDowell’s car stopped in traffic after it struck a black Audi and the concrete barrier wall.
Authorities said one trooper tried to detain McDowell, who showed signs of intoxication, but said he repeatedly pulled away and refused to comply.
Troopers then deployed Tasers several times, but they were ineffective, the report stated.
They said McDowell then ran north on foot along the interstate before being tackled.
During the struggle, investigators say McDowell punched one of the responding officers in the face before trying to leap over a concrete wall into southbound traffic.
Pepper spray was eventually used, allowing troopers to place McDowell in handcuffs with help from other officers.
They said he was evaluated by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and taken to Jackson West Medical Center in Doral before being booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
McDowell, whose bond was set at $7,500, was not listed on the Miami-Dade Corrections website as of Thursday evening.
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