A woman who stopped to help a driver who lost control and hit a street sign was carjacked for her trouble, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
The would be good Samaritan said the motorist pulled her from her vehicle and drove off but he lost control and crashed into two parked vehicles and left the scene.
It turns out the driver fit the description of a man deputies say took part in a drug deal earlier in the evening. A deputy tried to pull him over but he drove off at a high speed.
“Due to the nature of the original crime observed, and our agency policy, our deputy did not initiate a pursuit, but instead chose to ‘call-it-off’ and actually changed his direction of travel,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken J. Mascara said in a statement.
Less than 15 minutes after that pursuit was called off a traffic crash was reported at the 6500 block of North U.S. 1 near the Indian River County line. Three baggies of powder cocaine were found inside, according to the sheriff's office. That's the location where the carjacking took place, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies from Indian River County and St. Lucie County began a search but came up empty.
However, investigators say that they found information that identified the driver as Jamie Jermaine Brown, 28, and where he was staying.
The sheriff's office caught up with him and charged him with carjacking, possession of cocaine, fleeing and eluding and leaving the scene of an accident with damage.
“The support and assistance provided by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office was essential in locating and arresting this criminal,” Sheriff Mascara said.
Deputies booked Brown into the Indian River County Jail on $77,500 bond.