Florida Highway Patrol

Two serious crashes on Orange County's State Road 429 within five days have renewed attention on Florida's Move Over law. On October 23, six people died when a speeding SUV without headlights struck a Road Ranger's truck near Weatherby Road. Days later, on October 27, an FHP trooper was seriously injured and airlifted to a hospital after being hit during a lane-closure operation; the driver faces pending charges.

State data shows 170 Move Over crashes in Florida this year, with three deaths, and 385 crashes over the past two years. Officials expanded the law in January 2025 to cover hazard-light situations like roadside tire changes, though awareness remains low. Retired FHP Chief Joe Lopez urged stiffer penalties to improve compliance.

A federal judge sentenced Jacksonville resident Jennifer Cruz, 41, to 15 months in prison plus two years of supervised release for assaulting law enforcement officers during a Jan. 13 immigration enforcement operation. Cruz pleaded guilty in June after a traffic stop escalated when troopers discovered her license was suspended and moved to tow her vehicle; she punched a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in the face and later kicked two federal officers as they tried to place her in a patrol vehicle.

At Wednesday's hearing, the injured trooper described a broken finger requiring physical therapy and orthopedic care, lingering difficulty with everyday tasks, and distress from viral video of the incident. Cruz apologized directly to the trooper and accepted responsibility, while her daughter, employer and attorney urged leniency, citing her family role and remorse. The judge ordered prison time along with mental health treatment, substance abuse testing, and an anger management program, citing the need for accountability.

A Brevard County, Florida, sheriff's deputy and a 26-year-old woman were killed early Sunday in a head-on collision on Interstate 95 near Titusville. Deputy Kevin Morris, 55, was en route to the scene of a deputy-involved shooting in Mims when the crash occurred around 11 p.m. Saturday. The woman, whose identity has not been released, had reportedly attended a beachside wedding earlier that day.

Authorities said the woman's vehicle was traveling north on I-95 before making a U-turn into oncoming lanes, striking Morris's SUV head-on. The reason for the maneuver is unknown, and the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating, including a toxicology exam of the woman. Sheriff Wayne Ivey praised Morris as a dedicated officer and family man who returned to law enforcement in 2021. The earlier shooting in Mims, which Morris was responding to, involved deputies fatally wounding a 79-year-old man who allegedly pointed a firearm at them during a mental health call; that incident remains under separate review.

Lindsey Isaacs, a 23-year-old Palm Beach, Florida resident, testified before Congress this week about her wrongful arrest on three counts of vehicular homicide after a Flock automated license plate reader camera misidentified her Dodge Durango near a fatal crash scene in Ocala. Despite witnesses describing a different-colored vehicle and her Durango showing no collision damage, Florida Highway Patrol and Marion County Sheriff's Office personnel arrested her in April 2026. She spent about three and a half days in solitary confinement, was moved to a mental health unit, then held roughly 10 days in a maximum-security block, totaling 13 days in jail. She was denied bond initially, until photos proving her vehicle was undamaged secured her release. Charges were later filed against another individual.

Flock executives were invited to testify but did not attend. Isaacs has filed a civil lawsuit against the Florida Highway Patrol. The case adds to mounting scrutiny of ALPR technology, following jurisdictions like the Los Angeles Police Department dropping Flock contracts over accuracy concerns.

A Flagler County woman wrongfully arrested in connection with a deadly Interstate 4 crash testified before a U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing examining automated license plate readers and AI surveillance networks, including Flock Safety cameras.

Lindsey Isaacs, 23, was arrested in April after Florida Highway Patrol accused her of driving the vehicle in an October 2025 crash that killed three people. She spent 13 days in jail before charges were dropped; another woman, Alisa Montalvo, was later arrested in connection with the crash. Isaacs is now suing FHP, alleging troopers falsely claimed her vehicle showed "smudge or rub marks" tying it to the crash, when photos and a separate FHP review found no crash damage.

Her case became a focal point of the hearing, titled "Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network," amid mounting scrutiny of license plate reader technology. Privacy advocates, including the ACLU, warn the systems can produce wrongful arrests and civil rights violations, while many law enforcement officials defend the cameras as essential crime-solving tools.

A weeklong immigration enforcement operation in Southwest Florida led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alongside more than five federal, state and local agencies, resulted in 500 arrests between Aug. 24 and Aug. 27. Those detained included a Haitian national charged with murder, a Honduran man accused of molesting two children, a suspected Mexican cartel member, and a Guatemalan man accused of trying to use a Taser on an arresting officer.

Among the most serious cases, Lee County deputies arrested Whycliff Longin, 28, an asylum-seeking Haitian national, on charges of second-degree murder, attempted murder, sexual battery and burglary after a woman was found dead and another survived an attack in Lehigh Acres. Other detainees faced charges or histories involving battery, DUI, domestic violence, drug possession, hit-and-run incidents and repeated illegal reentry after deportation.

Participating agencies included the Florida Highway Patrol, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Florida National Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the operation, citing Florida's extensive law enforcement partnerships with ICE across all 67 counties.

Two people died and two others were seriously injured following a head-on collision late Saturday night on US-17/92 near West James Street in Polk County, Florida, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers said a southbound Honda sedan crossed into the northbound lane and crashed nearly head-on into a Nissan carrying a driver and two passengers. All four occupants of both vehicles were seriously hurt and taken to the hospital. The Nissan's driver, a 37-year-old Kissimmee man, and one of the passengers, a 45-year-old Kissimmee woman, later died from their injuries. The condition of the remaining occupants and further details on the crash's cause have not been released. The Florida Highway Patrol has not provided additional information at this time.