The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Sarasota teen after he fled from deputies and crashed a stolen truck in a Gulf Gate neighborhood.

SCSO

Deputies conducting traffic enforcement Tuesday along Midnight Pass on Siesta Key first attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a white pickup truck traveling more than 15 miles over the speed limit, just before 3:00 p.m. The vehicle, bearing a license plate that came back stolen out of the city of Sarasota, failed to stop and sped through the public beach parking lot filled with pedestrians and beachgoers. In an abundance of caution for public safety, patrol deputies did not pursue the vehicle however, the agency’s Aviation Unit followed the truck off the key, southbound on Tamiami Trail and eventually into a Gulf Gate neighborhood. The vehicle drove recklessly through the neighborhood, eventually crashing into a tree before three teen males and one adult male fled on foot. Responding deputies eventually located all four suspects and took the driver of the vehicle, 17-year-old Kai Dixon, into custody.

Dixon, of 5316 E 31^st Circle, Bradenton, now faces two felony charges including Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Aggravated Fleeing to Elude. He was released Tuesday to the Department of Juvenile Justice.