Two motorcyclists, including fireman, face felony charges of eluding law enforcement

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol reports that over the weekend, two motorcyclists in the Jacksonville region were recorded going over 100 miles per hour.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, both were detained and now face felony charges of attempting to elude the authorities.

Roderic Brown, 33, allegedly rushed past an officer on I-295 as he drove off the Buckman Bridge on Saturday. When the trooper tried to pull him over, Brown’s speed was recorded at 94 miles per hour. Brown allegedly accelerated up to 120 miles per hour and swerved in and out of traffic when a trooper who was following him turned on his lights, according to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP).

According to the troopers, Brown was finally pulled over and apprehended on the southbound lanes of Interstate 95.

“If you’re going at that speed and you crash, 99 percent of the time it’s fatal because you can’t win at 120 mph. And that’s why you need to stay at the proper speed limit,” the owner of Jacksonville Motorcycle Safety Training Michael Dobbs said.

Later in the day, the Florida Highway Patrol reported seeing a fireman named John Overton, who is 20 years old and works for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, driving recklessly northbound on Interstate 95 at J. Turner Butler Boulevard. FHP said that its air asset detected the biker going at speeds of above 100 mph when he was driving southbound on I-95. According to the troopers, Overton made it to the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway before heading back southbound on I-95.

According to the FHP, the aircraft followed Overton back to his residence, where he was taken into custody by state troopers.

According to JFRD, Overton has been given desk duty as they wait for the results of the inquiry.