Watch: Accused drunken driver plows through Florida Ironman racecourse
Jun 10, 2026
A driver plowed through bike and race courses during an Ironman race in Jacksonville, Florida, putting lives at risk, according to officials.
The dangerous police chase that followed was caught on dashcam video and released Wednesday by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The footage, from Ma
y 16, shows the driver swerving around a police motorcycle and speeding through the race course in the Riverside neighborhood. He nearly hit the athletes, according to a press release from sheriff’s office.
Officer Ernesto Valerio was blocking traffic for the race when he heard over radio that a driver was plowing through the event courses. Joined by Motor Unit Officer Aaron Sanchez, Valerio pursued the car, sometimes at up to 60 miles per hour.
After several attempts to pull the driver over, Valerio executed a what’s known as a PIT maneuver. That’s when an officer tries to end a chase by hitting the rear of a car and forcing the driver into a 180-degree turn.
The driver, 62-year-old Darrell Simon, was taken into custody and arrested on eight felony charges and nearly a dozen misdemeanors and violations, according to officials.
This is Simon’s third D.U.I. arrest in the last 10 years, the sheriff’s office said.
Simon has been assigned a public defender. The public defender’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
No one was injured.
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