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Suspects who fled from police, allegedly crashed, asked teens for help

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Several shots were fired by Orange County sheriff's deputies at the driver of a car they said was attempting to hit them Thursday afternoon.

Deputies charged 21-year-old Nicolas Joy by Thursday night.

According to sheriff's officials, deputies pulled a car over for a traffic infraction around 3:21 p.m. at the intersection of Lee Road and Adanson Street near Interstate 4.

Officials said as the deputies got out of their car the driver of the other car began backing up and rammed the deputies' unmarked SUV several times. Officials said the deputies, who were in uniform, had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit.

According to officials, the deputies fired six shots at the car, which fled the scene.

“Six gunshots. It was quite wild. I looked out the window and saw cops leaving,” said witness Lisa Robbins.

The deputies weren't injured.

Around 6:15 p.m. several law enforcement officers were on the scene of a car that crashed in a wooded area near North Winter Park Drive.

“[It] hit a dirt pile. Jumped into the air. Smashed into a tree and both took off running,” said one witness.

The suspects allegedly turned to two random teenage boys near the scene of the crash for help.

“He came over to me and he said, ‘Dude, let me get your phone.’ I told him it wasn’t working multiple times. He finally pulled out cash and said ‘I’ll pay you,’” Bryce Williams said.

“It was kind of scary but he was kind of calm. He wasn’t freaking out,” said the other boy, Justin Capen.

WFTV learned one of the suspects was beaten by a neighbor because he ran into his yard.

The two men ran off again, only to be caught by Casselberry police.

It marked the end of an hours-long search for the men, believed to be responsible for ramming the undercover deputy’s SUV.

Seminole County sheriff's officials said that two people were in custody and were being arrested on outstanding Orange County warrants.

They said they would also be charged for drugs found in the vehicle.

Investigators would not confirm that the vehicle or those being arrested were connected to the incident where shots were fired by deputies.

Initially sheriff's officials reported on their Twitter feed that shots had been fired at the deputies, but at a press conference they said the deputies were the only ones who fired shots.

Investigators said the deputies are on paid administrative leave while the incident is investigated.

Joy is the only suspect who has been identified.