Police: Man led officers on chase, crashed into Longwood home

LONGWOOD, Fla. — A man who fled from police and crashed into a Longwood man’s garage was driving with a suspended license, said authorities.

Police said Jonathan Pilgrim took out a garage door, two cars and part of a wall when he crashed.

The incident started when they tried to pull Pilgrim over on Ronald Reagan Boulevard for speeding and reckless driving, police said.

They said Pilgrim fled to the Columbus Harbor neighborhood instead.

“I’m watching TV and I hear this loud boom,” said homeowner Gunnar Johnson. “So I come out and open the door and there’s this gold car.”

Johnson said police clocked Pilgrim at 80 mph before he lost control.

Tire marks show the path he took through a resident’s yard before the car turned sideways, taking out Johnson’s garage, his two cars and part of a brick wall.

A wall of plywood now sits where Johnson’s garage door used to be.

Police said Pilgrim tried to flee on foot after the crash.

“Ultimately we caught him four blocks away on Wildner Avenue. We noticed he had a GPS monitoring anklet on,” said Longwood Police Chief Troy Hickson.

The ankle bracelet was issued from charges of fleeing and eluding police, while Pilgrim allegedly had drugs in his possession.

Pilgrim has been in trouble since the age of 16 for burglary, theft, drugs, driving without a license and a hit-and-run crash, authorities said.

Pilgrim is in jail without bail.

Police said the car he was driving was not reported stolen, but they’re still trying to figure out the connection between him and the owner, and if he was allowed to use it.

WFTV