PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A 26-year-old Florida Highway Patrol trooper was tragically killed early Friday morning while trying to detain a fleeing felon on Interstate 95 in St. Lucie County, authorities said.
Col. Gary Howze II of the FHP said Trooper Zachary Fink, a three-year veteran of the agency, was pursuing a person who was driving a white Kia in a "reckless manner" and speeding on I-95 just before 3 a.m.
Just south of Crosstown Parkway, the Kia attempted to make a U-turn to drive northbound in the southbound lanes to escape the pursuit.
"The driver made an abrupt turn to travel the wrong direction on Interstate 95," Howze said. "Trooper Fink, in an attempt to continue to apprehend the subject, and to warn unsuspecting motorists of the danger in the area, turned also with the vehicle. And unfortunately, turned into the immediate path of a semi tractor trailer, which struck the left driver's side of his patrol car."
Region St Lucie County
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The Kia kept going and eventually crashed into a tree less than 2 miles away in the area of Brandywine Lane and Commerce Center Drive.
Howze said the driver took off on foot, triggering a massive, multi-agency manhunt. The driver, who has not been identified, was eventually taken into custody approximately five hours later, just after 8 a.m.
Howze said the driver of the semi in the I-95 crash died at the scene, while Fink was flown to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Aerial video from WPTV Chopper 5 showed the semi on its side and the front of the vehicle badly smashed up. Just feet away, Fink's FHP cruiser was heavily damaged in the median.
WATCH: Chopper 5 video of Interstate 95 wreck
"It is a horrific outcome and one that hurts us dearly," said Dave Kerner, the executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which oversees the FHP.
Kerner said Fink leaves behind a fiancée, mother, father and stepmother.
"Trooper Fink is a hero," Kerner said. "As his stepmother relayed to me, ever since he was 6 years old, he's wanted to help people."
Howze said Fink is a three-year veteran of the FHP and started his career in Orlando before recently transferring to Port St. Lucie, his home.
In a social media post Friday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offered his condolences, saying Fink was "killed in the line of duty while attempting to detain a fleeing felon in St. Lucie County."
Our hearts go out to the family of FHP Trooper Zachary Fink, who was killed in the line of duty while attempting to detain a fleeing felon in St. Lucie County.@CaseyDeSantis and I are praying for the Fink family and the entire FHP community. pic.twitter.com/iWYuKqrkZF
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 2, 2024
Less than 2 miles away from the deadly crash on I-95, multiple law enforcement agencies — including Port St. Lucie police, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, and the FHP — were involved in a major search in a Port St. Lucie neighborhood that focused heavily on the area near the Castle Pines at PGA Village community.
"One adult black male suspect has been detained at that scene in relation to the FHP investigation on I-95," Port St. Lucie police said in a social media post.
In a post on the Martin County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, the agency said the man detained is from Broward County.
Our WPTV news crew said law enforcement officers searched a white Kia that crashed into a tree and pulled a duffle bag out of the trunk.
In addition, our news crew saw a St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office vehicle mangled with its roof ripped off. That vehicle was towed away. However, a spokeswoman for the FHP said that the sheriff's office vehicle was not connected to the manhunt.
A spokeswoman for St. Lucie Public Schools said no schools were locked down during the law enforcement search.
At 2:45 p.m., I-95 is now open southbound and northbound from Becker Road to Okeechobee Road, according to the St. Lucie County Public Safety Department.
"We are currently doing a lot of measurements. This is a very in-depth investigation," said Lt. Indiana Miranda of the FHP.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office has taken over the criminal investigation, while the traffic homicide investigation into Fink's death is being led by the FHP.