INDIANTOWN, Fla. (CBS12) — Newly released aerial footage and arresting documents have revealed new details about a high-speed chase through Martin County that ended in the arrest of a Palm Beach County man.
The pursuit began on Tuesday along State Road 710 in Indiantown when a deputy clocked a gray 2024 Kia SUV traveling 84 mph in a 45 mph zone. The driver, later identified as 33-year-old Markell Travon Tillman, refused to stop and began driving recklessly, passing other vehicles over double yellow lines.
According to the arrest report, the deputy activated emergency lights and sirens, but Tillman accelerated to over 100 mph. Near SW Springhaven Road, Tillman swerved onto the grassy right shoulder to pass slower traffic, nearly rear-ending multiple vehicles. Because of his extreme recklessness, the deputy terminated the ground pursuit near SW Tommy Clements Street for safety reasons after reading the vehicle’s license plate to dispatch.
Sheriff John Budensiek says superspeeders on this road are too common.
“We’ve made several arrests out there just for that. And we write citations every single day,” Budensiek said.
Newly released aerial footage and arresting documents reveal new details about a high-speed chase through Martin County that ended in the arrest of a Palm Beach County man (MCSO)
The sheriff’s office maintained visual contact from the air as Tillman drove toward Palm City, believing he had escaped. Instead, deputies positioned ahead on Martin Highway near Allapattah Road deployed stop sticks, puncturing the Kia’s tires and disabling the vehicle near I-95. Body camera footage captured Tillman fleeing on foot into a grassy area, where deputies tackled and arrested him just yards away.
Markell Tillman of Palm Beach County was arrested after Martin County deputies said he drove more than 100 mph, fled a traffic stop and ran from his disabled vehicle. (MCSO)
Tillman, who was wearing shorts ironically printed with “Don’t Burn Out before You Get to the Top” and “Go Hard or Go Home,” was booked into the Martin County Jail. He faces several charges, including fleeing and eluding, speeding over 100 mph, driving with a suspended license, and resisting arrest without violence. Deputies also noted Tillman has active outstanding warrants from Jefferson County on drug-related charges.
“Why he would drive like that, considering the fact that he had multiple warrants for his arrest already and wasn’t allowed to be driving in the first place, is beyond me,” said Budensiek.
This chase follows multiple deadly accidents in the area, including a deadly head-on collision not far from where this accident took place. Sheriff John Budensiek previously spoke about the consistent dangers this road poses.
“This is not just a crash here or there,” he said. “We have a consistent pattern of death on this road.”
One man who often drives on State Road 710 says going 80 and above is normal.
“When I usually go to Okeechobee, I go up to 710. I’m going like 70, 75 and they pass me like I’m standing still,” said Indiantown resident Vincent Berghela.
Last month, Martin County had 5 traffic fatalities in 4 days, with many of them happening near the most recent accident.
Budensiek says he’s advocated for a widening of the road to the Florida Department of Transportation, but upgrades would start in 2027 at the earliest.
“We’ve got a couple more years of heavy enforcement out there, having to kind of hunker down. The locals know the issues out there, but then you get these knuckleheads that are not from here that have never watched the news, that have never looked at our Facebook, that are running through our county and wreaking havoc on our residents out there in Indian Town,” Budensiek said.