ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A man who was seen waving a gun at vehicles and firing shots Monday morning on Interstate 95, leading to a chase with deputies that ended in a crash, has been booked into St. Johns County jail.
Samuel O’Neal Gardner, 62, is now facing six charges after deputies said he fired a gun out of his vehicle “approximately three times while driving erratically” and pointed a gun at law enforcement while leading deputies on a pursuit, according to his arrest warrant.
Around 9:30 a.m., SJSO dispatch received a call from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office regarding a red Ford pickup truck being driven recklessly on I-95 South. JSO also told deputies the driver had fired his gun while driving, the arrest warrant states.
After that call from JSO, SJSO dispatch received multiple 911 calls from concerned citizens who also said they a man waving a silver revolver out of the driver’s side window.
A woman captured the moments before the crash and sent News4JAX a video that shows the man waving a gun at vehicles while driving recklessly.
According to the sheriff’s office, when deputies tried to stop Gardner, he continued driving, leading them on a pursuit.
“The manner in which the defendant was waving the firearm was not in self defense and was reckless in nature,” the arrest warrant says.
As deputies began positioning themselves and stopped along the interstate, Gardner passed them “and pointed the firearm in their direction on three separate occasions at three separate deputies,” according to the arrest warrant.
According to SJSO, those deputies said they were in fear for their safety and believed Gardner was “very capable of shooting them” as he drove by their patrol vehicles.
Despite efforts to stop him, Gardner continued driving, varying his speeds from 90 to 100 mph. According to SJSO, Gardner would pass vehicles on the median emergency lane.
The chase ultimately ended in Gardner rear-ending an uninvolved citizen near County Road 214, south of State Road 16.
Gardner’s pickup truck overturned and had to be extricated from the truck and airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries, where he spent several days.
Gardner was charged with improper exhibition of a firearm, reckless driving, three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and fleeing and eluding.
