VCSO: Driver Sped Through Crash Scene With "Dabs" In Car

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Deltona, FL - A 21-year-old Orange City man is free on $9,000 bond after the Volusia County Sheriff's Office says he drove through an accident scene at high speed, crashed into a vehicle trying to get away from a deputy and had containers of marijuana concentrate in his vehicle.

21-year-old Hunter C. Buckels went around 100 miles per hour through that accident scene on westbound Interstate 4 just west of State Road 44 around 8:15 p.m. Saturday (August 18th), according to his arrest report. That's in an area with a posted speed limit of 70 MPH.

VCSO deputies tell us they were doing traffic enforcement at the crash scene for the Florida Highway Patrol because multiple vehicles were failing to move over for emergency vehicles which had their lights flashing.

One of the deputies on duty spotted Buckels in a gray Nissan going through the zone at a "high rate of speed" and gave chase, watching Buckels weave through traffic, per the report.

Once the deputy was around 100 to 150 yards away from Buckels' vehicle, he turned on his emergency lights and tried to pull him over, but that's when the Nissan veered onto Howland Boulevard "abruptly" and sped down the ramp, causing the deputy to radio dispatch for help and turn off his lights.

Those lights would be reactivated after the deputy got off on exit 114 and saw Buckels' vehicle "suddenly jarred upward" as if it had hit something while going through the intersection to get back onto westbound I-4. Deputies discovered later on that Buckels had apparently made a right turn onto Howland and then hit a black Toyota Camry while doing a U-turn. No injuries were noted in the report from the crash.

The wounded Nissan left the scene and eventually pulled over along I-4. That's when the deputy saw Buckles leave the Nissan with a white case in hand and run towards the woods nearby, according to the report. The deputy says Buckles then tried to get back into his car when he saw the deputy but was stopped after he pulled out his Taser and ordered Buckles to the ground.

When asked why he fled from deputies, Buckles claimed that he didn't see the flashing lights at first, then changed his story to say he didn't see them until he was almost at the Howland exit, according to the report. He also denied trying to leave the scene.

VCSO says the white case Buckles had in his possession contained several containers of marijuana concentrate - also known as "dabs" - along with a smoking pipe and another 11.3 grams of marijuana concentrate wrapped in wax paper. Buckels told deputies the marijuana was for personal use.

Also found on Buckels was over $1,600 in cash, per the report.

Buckles is charged with two felonies - refusing to stop for law enforcement and possession of marijuana concentrate - and three misdemeanors, including leaving the scene of a crash, resisting an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Despite the deputy noting that Buckles was slurring his speech, had trouble standing and smelled of alcohol, he managed to avoid a driving while impaired charge after passing a field sobriety test.