VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida sheriff was caught in the middle of a highway chase Tuesday while doing a radio interview about tackling hate groups in the county.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood joined Drew Garabo and John Senning on 102.5 The Bone to talk about his response to antisemitism and hate speech in the county, but not before a fleeing driver in a stolen car on I-95 took the sheriff away for a moment, the sheriff's office reports. The radio show was met with the sound of muffled movement and sirens from first responders.
"Sheriff, are you there?" Garabo said on the radio show.
"There is something major, major going on," Senning said minutes later. "Literally, the only thing I heard was shut down 95."
The sheriff didn't answer.
Body camera video from Volusia County Sheriff's Office shows deputies helping Florida Highway Patrol stop the driver. He was ultimately stopped and apprehended on the side of the road.
Chitwood eventually joined the radio show again. When the guys asked him if everything was OK, the sheriff gave a reassuring response the radio hosts couldn't help but laugh at.
"We're good, we're good," he said. "FHP was chasing a car and I just happened to be at the next exit where this son of b---- was coming."
Chitwood went on to explain that their helicopter was in the sky helping FHP and a detective eventually was able to slow the driver down using stop sticks in the road. He then got out of the car and detectives were able to take him into custody.
"He was armed with a firearm, so we'll see how this plays out," Chitwood said. "All in a day's work."
After that, the 102.5 radio show got back to the regularly scheduled program and brought up the Volusia County sheriff's response to neo-Nazi hate groups.
"We have unity in this county, we stand beside one another in this county, and we stand beside our Jewish neighbors," Sheriff Chitwood said earlier in the week. "We are not going to tolerate this."
Garabo and Senning commended Chitwood for standing up for the Jewish community and condemning hate in any form in Central Florida during the radio show.
"You're making Florida proud, Sheriff Chitwood," the radio hosts said.