Wanted Felony Suspect Arrested After U-Haul Chase Ends in Crash in East Naples

A police pursuit involving a suspect wanted for multiple violent felonies has ended with a dramatic crash and foot chase in East Naples.

The suspect, driving a U-Haul van, was arrested on Wednesday after deputies tracked the vehicle to Lakewood Boulevard, just north of Boca Ciega Drive, where the pursuit came to an abrupt end when the van slammed into a tree.

Emergency crews from Greater Naples Fire Rescue and Collier County EMS were dispatched to the scene shortly before midday as law enforcement officers moved in to secure the area.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies had been pursuing a suspect wanted in Lee County for what authorities described as multiple violent felony offences.

Investigators say the pursuit began after the suspect fled an attempted traffic stop earlier in the day. Deputies later located the vehicle and followed it into East Naples.

But the crash was not the end of the drama.

According to authorities, the suspect abandoned the damaged U-Haul and attempted to escape on foot. A brief manhunt followed before deputies caught and arrested the individual.

Witnesses watched as emergency vehicles and law enforcement officers converged on the normally quiet neighbourhood, turning a stretch of Lakewood Boulevard into an active crime scene.

Officials have not yet released the suspect’s identity, nor have they disclosed the specific charges linked to the Lee County investigation.

Both the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office are now working to establish the full sequence of events that led to the pursuit.

For now, the suspect is in custody and investigators remain at work piecing together the circumstances behind another high-stakes chase on Southwest Florida’s roads.

More details are expected to be released in the coming hours.