COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. -- A driver is dead after leading Collier County deputies on a high-speed chase Monday that ended in a fiery crash.
According to the Collier County Sheriff's Office, deputies attempted to stop a vehicle for speeding on Golden Gate Parkway east of Collier Boulevard around 11 a.m.. The driver refused to pull over and a pursuit began.
The pursuit continued into rural Collier County along Oil Well Road. Other deputies were waiting, who put stop sticks in the road at the intersection with Camp Keias Road. The driver sped over the stop sticks, damaging the vehicle's tires.
The car kept going, and the driver eventually lost control and crashed into a tree near Pacific Grade Road.
"The vehicle caught on fire," said Cpl. Efrain Hernandez of the Collier County Sheriff's Office. "Deputies attempted to put the fire out and they were unsuccessful. Due to the impact and the fire, the driver was deceased."
The flames from the crash caused a brush fire on the south side of Oil Well Road, which firefighters were able to put out. But flames ignited again around 4 p.m., with the fire spreading to the surrounding woods. Fire crews rushed back to the scene to battle the flames.
The car involved in the crash was registered to 22-year-old Adam Zelske. It is yet unconfirmed if he was the driver. Deputies had tried to serve a warrant for probation violation for Zelske earlier in the morning, before the attempted traffic stop.
