A 15-year-old is accused of nearly running over a Tavares Police Officer, a disabled woman died after her boyfriend allowed her to live in deplorable conditions, a 13-year-old teen survived getting bit by an alligator, the OceanGate CEO was recently sued by a Winter Park couple, and a massive 30-inch hole opened up behind an Ocala home: Here's FOX 35's Week in Review.
15-year-old accused of nearly running over Tavares police officer, missing him by 'inches,' police say
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A 15-year-old boy who was inches away from striking a Tavares police officer with a stolen vehicle in an apartment complex was arrested early Sunday, authorities said. The teenager was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, fleeing and eluding at a high speed, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and resisting an officer without violence. Shortly after 3:30 a.m., a resident of the Atwater Apartments on Ann Rou Road called the police after seeing people wearing ski masks driving two SUVs within the complex. When officers arrived, they found the two vehicles which they learned were stolen, the Tavares Police Department said. Police tried to stop the vehicle the teen was driving in the complex, and that's when he turned the SUV to face officers and sped toward one of the officers, authorities said. The officer quickly pressed himself against the side of a patrol vehicle to avoid being hit. Officers said the teenager missed the officer by inches.
Woman dies from living in dirty home without medical care, police say: ‘Direct result of his negligence’
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A Florida man was arrested after police say he neglected his significant other. Investigators say the 59-year-old victim was living in deplorable conditions, and he was supposed to be taking care of her. According to an arrest report, the Cocoa home was dirty with animal feces inside. The victim was found when police conducted a welfare check in January 2022. She died two weeks after she was brought to the hospital.
Alligator in Florida creek bites 13-year-old boy who ran out of water 'as fast as I could'
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A 13-year-old boy was bitten by an alligator at a creek in Winter Springs on Tuesday, according to 911 audio from the Seminole County Fire Department. The boy said it all happened at Howell Creek Trestle shortly after 6:45 p.m. He told the dispatcher that the gator bit his right hip and mid-thigh area, but he was doing OK.
"I'm OK, though. I can walk and I can stand. It just stings a little bit, but I'm good," he said. The boy also said it wasn't bleeding "too bad," but his "skin is open pretty good."
When asked where the gator was, the teen said he didn't know. "I got out of the water as fast as I could, and then I just walked all the way to the nearest house," he said, adding that he "ran" away from the creek. The boy wasn't with his mom at the time, who he said was a doctor. She told him to call 911 and officials said paramedics arrived shortly before 7 p.m.
Missing Titanic sub owner sued by Florida couple who traveled to space
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An Orange County, Florida couple has sued OceanGate Expeditions CEO Richard Stockton Rush, who is onboard a submersible that went missing Sunday night in the North Atlantic Ocean. Marc and Sharon Hagle, of Winter Park, filed the lawsuit on February 15, 2023, after Rush reportedly refused to refund the couple the $210,258 they claimed they spent on an expedition that was supposed to take place in June 2018, court records show. FOX 35 News previously reported on the Hagles as they prepared to participate in the fourth crewed flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket in 2021.
Massive 30-foot hole opens up inches away from Ocala home
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Residents in an Ocala neighborhood were asked to evacuate after a 30-foot hole opened a few feet away from a home. On Wednesday, firefighters responded to a flood assessment call near SE 28th Place and SE Fifth Terrace. When they arrived, they encountered a duplex with a flooded front yard and a "ground depression" of nearly 30 feet that was less than five feet from the residence, according to a press release.