Across a span of four miles and in less than 15 minutes, a “violent and reckless chain of events” ended with a 74-year-old man being killed in a crash with a Broward Sheriff’s deputy who was in pursuit of another car, court records say.

Ronald Wilson would have celebrated his 75th birthday on Sunday, according to a GoFundMe online fundraiser organized by his family.

Three minutes before midnight Monday, Wilson was driving his silver Toyota Tacoma north on Northwest 31st Avenue in Tamarac, crossing at the intersection of Prospect Road with the right-of-way, when a BSO deputy collided with the driver’s side of his truck, court records say.

Wilson and a passenger in his truck were taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, where Wilson was pronounced dead within an hour, according to a probable cause affidavit.

K-9 Deputy Brian Quintal, who crashed with Wilson, was among several who were in pursuit of Sean Paul Holder, 30, of Coral Springs, in the moments before the deadly crash.

Holder first stole a Jeep Cherokee in Margate, crashed through a gate at the Flanigan’s restaurant on State Road 7 in North Lauderdale, intentionally reversed into one deputy’s marked patrol car while part of the gate was still lodged on top of the Jeep, then fled while erratically driving at least 15 mph over the speed limit from several marked and unmarked BSO cars before the deadly crash, the affidavit for his arrest said.

The chain reaction culminated in Quintal crashing with Wilson no more than 20 seconds after the deputy unsuccessfully tried a PIT maneuver to stop Holder just before the intersection of Prospect Road and Northwest 31st Avenue, according to the affidavit.

Wilson’s death “occurred during and as a consequence” of Holder’s actions, according to the affidavit. Holder is now facing a second-degree murder charge, among several others.

“Tragically, my dad was killed by a cop (during a high speed chase) in Florida on February 16th,” wrote online fundraiser organizer Claudia Wilson. “A Broward [Sherriff] Deputy in Florida was pursuing a stolen vehicle and in the chase hit my father’s car.”

Deputy’s car intentionally hit

Margate Police broadcasted a be-on-the-lookout alert for the stolen Jeep Cherokee at 11:44 p.m. after losing sight of the car near Northwest 70th Avenue and West Commercial Boulevard, the affidavit said.

Four minutes later, one Broward Sheriff’s deputy in an unmarked car spotted the Jeep nearby on Northwest 64th Avenue and “began monitoring” as more deputies came toward the area for assistance. Holder appeared to be following all traffic laws while driving east in the area of Bailey Road, the affidavit said, but within two minutes later had started driving with the car’s hazard lights turned on.

Ten minutes after Margate’s initial alert had been issued, Holder had made it into the parking lot of the Flanigan’s at 5450 North State Road 7 and was circling the lot, the affidavit said. Multiple marked and unmarked BSO cars started arriving in the area, and BSO helicopters were reported to be on the way.

It appeared that Holder began driving erratically once he noticed the law enforcement officers in the area, according to the affidavit. He accelerated and crashed into a closed gate in the back of the Flanigan’s, lodging the fence on top of the Jeep.

Another deputy tried to stop Holder as he drove out of the restaurant’s parking lot and started to head into the northbound lanes of State Road 7 with the fence still on top of the Jeep, the affidavit said. The deputy positioned his patrol car behind the Jeep on North State Road 7, and Holder then intentionally reversed into the front of the deputy’s car while the deputy was still inside, the affidavit said.

Holder sped off, knocking the fence loose and onto the road. The deputy communicated over radio that the suspect had committed aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, prompting the start of the chase.

BSO’s current policy allows deputies to initiate a chase when there is reasonable belief a forcible felony was committed or is being committed, which includes aggravated battery.

Pursuing deputy lost control briefly

At 11:55 p.m., deputies began pursuing Holder, who continued to flee from both marked and unmarked BSO cars with lights and sirens turned on, the affidavit said. One minute into the pursuit, Holder was driving east at 60 mph on Prospect Road near the intersection of Northwest 36th Avenue, where the speed limit is 45 mph.

As Holder was approaching the intersection of Northwest 31st Avenue, Deputy Quintal tried to force the Jeep to stop by performing a Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver, known as a PIT maneuver, where a law enforcement officer uses his or her patrol car to force the car being pursued to abruptly spin out. The deputy’s attempt was unsuccessful, and Holder continued fleeing by driving through the red light at the intersection of Northwest 31st Avenue, the affidavit said.

Quintal had briefly lost control of his car after performing the technique, regained control as he entered the intersection, and at 11:57 p.m., crashed into Wilson’s truck, the affidavit said.

One of the people injured in the crash was bleeding from his head, according to first responders’ radio communications archived by the site Broadcastify. A K-9 could be heard barking in the background.

The pursuit soon after ended about a half mile away from where Quintal crashed into Wilson, according to the affidavit, when deputies successfully performed a PIT maneuver on the Jeep in the area of the 2600 block of Northwest 55th Court. Holder was arrested with help from a K-9 deputy.

He was held in the Broward Main Jail as of Thursday and is facing charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, grand theft auto, driving with a suspended license as a habitual traffic offender, and in a separately filed case, one count of second-degree murder in connection with Wilson’s death, court records show.

Pursuit policy

BSO’s current policy allows deputies to initiate a chase when there is reasonable belief a forcible felony was committed or is being committed, which includes aggravated battery. Among the offenses deputies are prohibited from starting pursuits for is auto thefts.

Deputies who are in a pursuit are required to drive with lights and sirens on, and the initial deputy must communicate the start of a pursuit and its reason, the exact location and direction of travel and approximate speeds and traffic conditions, according to BSO’s policy. Supervisors are required to authorize any continuation of a pursuit and can cancel them based on the ongoing circumstances.

The policy says pursuits will be terminated, in part, when “the risks of continuing the pursuit appear to outweigh the risks of the suspect’s escape.” A factor that must be considered before starting a chase is whether there are alternative ways to arrest a suspect later if the pursuit is called off, according to the policy, including license plate number checks in law enforcement databases and if the suspect’s identity is known.

PIT maneuvers are allowed in any authorized pursuit and are “a safe and effective way to end pursuits,” the policy says, “when used properly.” Deputies can only perform them if trained and must announce their intention to perform the technique over radio before using it. A minimum of two police cars must be available for a PIT maneuver to be used while three are preferred.

BSO’s Homicide and Violent Crimes units as well as Internal Affairs are investigating. The case also will be forwarded to BSO’s Pursuit Review Board, as is department policy.