Florida police chase ends tragically as woman dies after motorcycle thief throws her out of truck
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: Two Florida men are in custody after a woman died after she was thrown from a speeding truck during a high-speed police pursuit.
The incident unfolded earlier this week on Tuesday, February 27, in Daytona Beach after Police initiated their search for Julio Angel Rivera, 45, in connection with a stolen motorcycle. He is now accused of allegedly pushing Gina Jennings, 56, to her fatal fall from a white GMC truck over a money dispute, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.
Julio Angel Rivera's high-speed chase and subsequent arrest
Police said while they were waiting for Rivera when Jennings got into a white GMC truck with six other people inside. When they approached the vehicle, it sped away, setting off a tragic sequence of events.
The victim was thrown from the vehicle in the 600 block of Madison Avenue. While one officer stopped to render aid, a second officer pursued the truck, which was later discovered abandoned. Jennings was transported to a hospital but, tragically, was pronounced dead, according to the Daytona Beach Police Department.
Julio Angel Rivera's charges upgraded to second-degree murder
Rivera, aged 45, was eventually located and initially charged with grand theft auto. However, his charges were subsequently upgraded to second-degree murder and fleeing and eluding police. Rivera, who was present in the truck when Jennings was thrown out, ingested a substance before being taken into custody and was hospitalized.
Police arrested the owner and driver of the GMC truck, Michael Doudney, aged 36. Doudney faces charges of fleeing and eluding police.
Witness recounts woman's desperate pleas for help
A witness, Barbara Smith, recounted the harrowing moment, stating she saw the woman desperately screaming for help with the back door open as the truck sped past her residence.
“She had the back door open, and she said, ‘Help! help!’” Barbara said. “I said, ‘Jump! jump!’ and then they kept going, and he sped up faster because the police were right behind him. She was screaming all the way down.”
An autopsy report indicated that Jennings succumbed to substantial internal bleeding, along with a fractured pelvis, spine, and lower back, as detailed by the police, as per News Journal. Additionally, a second individual, Jeremy First, aged 46, was arrested at the same location on an unrelated warrant from Orange County.
