A suspected fentanyl trafficker fleeing a traffic stop sideswiped a car in Casselberry, killing its two occupants, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies attempted to pull over Marquaious Wheaton, 26, around 11:50 a.m. at 25th Street near S.R. 417 in Sanford, but he kept driving and fled the area. The sheriff’s office sent up a helicopter to conduct aerial surveillance of Wheaton, but declined to give chase on the ground out of concern for drivers’ safety, the agency said in a news release.
Wheaton headed southbound on U.S. Highway 17-92, at times going over 100 mph, before entering Casselberry. He broadsided another car, fatally injuring both people inside, while driving near Sunnytown Lane around 12:05 p.m. The two victims were not identified, according to the release.
Wheaton was taken into custody at the scene and brought to a hospital, where he remains with non-life threatening injuries as of Wednesday afternoon. The Casselberry Police Department is investigating the collision as a traffic homicide and the sheriff’s office said criminal charges are forthcoming, the release said.