Police arrest man who stole van, caused wreck

DESTIN -- A man who caused a serious wreck on Okaloosa Island while fleeing law enforcement was arrested Dec. 30 after he got of the hospital.

Lloyd Poole, a 22-year-old Shalimar man, was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding law enforcement, which is a felony. He has a Feb. 2 court date.

Read the accident report from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.

Poole, a Milton native, was critically injured in the Dec. 15 crash. A woman in another vehicle, Patricia Ambrose, was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center with broken bones.

He was driving a stolen minivan from a home in Destin at the time of the wreck. Law enforcement had been told to be on the lookout for the red Sedona van at the time of the wreck.

A homeowner on Indian Trail in Destin had noticed an open gate and seen a man jumping over the gate. He then reported the van to police as a possible getaway vehicle.

An Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputy spotted the van in the area of Fisherman's Wharf and attempted to catch up to the vehicle, according to Poole's arrest report.

Poole sped through several parking lots and crossed the median with the deputy in pursuit, before heading west on U.S. Highway 98 onto Okaloosa Island. The speed of the van as it crossed the Marler Bridge was estimated to be 70 mph, according to the report.

On Okaloosa Island, Poole drove onto the shoulder and then overcorrected, losing control of the van which crossed both westbound lanes and striking Ambrose's van head-on.

See a photo gallery of the accident scene.

Poole was also taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, where he was initially listed in critical condition.