JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Newly released police reports give more details on a chase that shut down Interstate 95 Monday and ended with a suspect in custody.
Police say 30-year-old Jerson Edmond was the driver of a white truck that crashed on I-95 after a police pursuit.
According to investigators, Edmond shot into a crowd of people near a gas station on Harts Road around noon Monday. A patrol officer who was in the area heard the gunshots and spoke with a group of people in the area who advised that a man in a white truck had shot at the group, but that no one had been injured.
The officer says he then witnessed the white truck fleeing from the area, and started a pursuit, with another patrol unit joining.
The truck reached speeds up to 90 mph, running red lights and passing Pine Estates Elementary School while school was in session. According to the report, Edmond is described as "failing to signal lane changes and was coming within inches of the surrounding vehicles."
Edmond eventually took the on-ramp to I-95 South at Lem Turner with multiple police units in pursuit. While traveling southbound on I-95, officers conducted a pit maneuver on the truck, causing it to crash into the median barrier and stop.
Edmond was taken into custody on I-95 and transported to UF Health Shands. He is charged with discharging a firearm in public within 1000 ft. of any persons, fleeing and eluding officers, and reckless driving.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office had a Mobil station on Hart Road on Jacksonville's Northside blocked off for two hours Monday to investigate the incident. Police also had traffic blocked in both directions Monday afternoon on I-95 at Golfair Blvd., Jacksonville for multiple hours.