Man arrested after high speed stolen car chase in North Fort Myers

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. —

One man led troopers on a high-speed chase in a stolen car in North Fort Myers.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office and Florida Highway Patrol teamed up to arrest Cesar Ruelas.

Around 10 p.m. Tuesday, Lee County deputies responded to a home on Lee Road in Fort Myers for a stolen Mustang. The victim reported he had left it running in the driveway while briefly inside the home. When he returned outside, the car was gone.

"This is a crime of opportunity. Our suspect's intoxicated. He's walking by and sees a vehicle that's running. The doors are open, and he takes advantage of that person," said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.

Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol later found the stolen Mustang traveling on US 41 in North Fort Myers. They say he was driving more than 120 miles per hour.

"Anytime I go by that intersection, I'm going to think of that high-speed chase," said Connor Babcock.

We spoke with one of our own Gulf Coast News video editors, Connor Babcock, who saw troopers chasing the car while on his way home from work.

"It was terrifying. Like those roads are normally quiet at that hour. I'm used to it being quiet and just kind of being able to decompress on the road here and then just see just this wave of lights and just all of this chaos happening, like, unravel all at once, like it was. It was horrifying. It was a jolt of adrenaline," said Babcock.

Ruelas then crashed the car near US 41 and Avenue A and ran away.

With the help of aviation and K-9 units, deputies found Ruelas hiding in the woods off North Tamiami Trail in North Fort Myers.

"Together our agencies are stronger when we work side by side to keep our communities safe," said Sheriff Marceno.

Ruelas was charged by LCSO with grand theft of a motor vehicle. FHP also charged him with dangerous excessive speed, driving while license suspended, hit and run, reckless driving, resisting without violence, DUI, DUI with property damage, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and fleeing and eluding.

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