A Saturday night traffic stop in Gainesville took a dangerous turn when a driver took off, dragging two police officers behind his vehicle.
Gainesville officers stopped a blue Acura Integra on Davis Street around 8:30 p.m. and were conducting a search when one of the passengers jumped into the driver’s seat. The officers, Cory Cummings and Justin Seabolt, were still partially inside the Acura as the driver attempted his getaway, according to a police report.
“Both officers were pulled while the vehicle was in motion and they were placed in reasonable apprehension of receiving a serious injury or death,” a recording officer said in the report.
The low-speed chase ended two miles away in the area of Monroe Drive, police confirmed. It is not clear how far the officers were dragged.
Police arrested 24-year-old Fabian Mata Garcia of Gainesville on several charges, including two counts of assault on a police officer and three counts of kidnapping.
Three other passengers inside the car at the time were taken “against their will” when Garcia punched the gas, according to police. One of them, 20-year-old Jose Carrasco Leon, was also charged with possession of methamphetamine. He allegedly provided arresting officers with a false name and birthdate.
Cummings and Seabolt were not injured, Gainesville police Sgt. Kevin Holbrook said.
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