WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — Documents from Winter Garden Police Department details what happened after chaos unfolded when a man drove into a crowd during a Christmas parade Sunday, hitting a car with a family inside and nearly striking an officer.
Terryus Baker, 27, went before a judge Monday.
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In a report, an officer said he was waiting for the parade to begin when someone flagged him down. A white Toyota Highlander had been hit by a speeding car.
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The driver told the officer they were driving when they heard screaming, and their car was hit twice before the person who hit them took off.
The report said another officer had been directing traffic for the parade when he put his hands out to tell the driver to slow down. The driver didn’t.
The officer then stepped into the road and “projected” his voice to tell the driver to “slow down.”
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He “heard the engine rev” and the vehicle sped up “coming right at him.”
An off-duty Kissimmee police officer saw the car heading toward the crowd, then the driver running away. The officer then got Baker to the ground.
Police arrested Baker and added a slew of other charges, including not having a valid license, child neglect, assault on a law enforcement officer and possession of narcotics.
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Police records state as he was being arrested, police found a plastic baggie with two pills in his pocket.
Two children were in the car with Baker that night.
The driver of the car Baker that hit was taken to the hospital.
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