VERO BEACH — A Vero Beach man is in jail after police say he collided with another vehicle, struck a utility pole and later escaped a patrol car.
The Vero Beach Police Department arrested Jesus Esquivel Flores, 34, of 40th Avenue, on Sunday, Nov. 22, shortly after 10 p.m.
Flores’s bond is set at $7,000 bond and he is being held for the Department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Authorities say that Flores was driving a black Dodge Ram at the time of the crash, which occurred in the area of State Road 60 and 41st Avenue just before 9 p.m. Flores also collided with a stop sign and a city power pole, which caused a temporary power outage for surrounding electric customers.
The Ram was followed by a witness to the crash, who then flagged down authorities, saying the driver and three small children abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. The man and children were tracked to a nearby apartment.
Officers arrested Flores, handcuffing him and securing him in the back of a patrol car, the arrest report states. However, Flores was able to slip one of his wrists through the cuff. He escaped the patrol car by reaching through the barred window and opening the door from the outside.
A K-9 unit pursued Flores and apprehended the man for a second time that night.
Flores faces charges of felony escape, and misdemeanor leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage and driving without a valid license.
The ages of the children and their relationship to Flores was not part of the report.
