‘Drunk driver’ leads police on high speed chase along Ironman race course

12 Jun 2026 • 5:32 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

‘Drunk driver’ leads police on high speed chase along Ironman race course

A drunk driving suspect led police on a high speed chase through the race course of an Ironman competition in Florida.

The driver, 62-year-old Darrell Simon, entered the coned-off road course for running and biking in Jacksonville on May 16.

Officer Ernesto Valerio, who was blocking the road at the end of the marathon, took off in pursuit. Someone on the police radio can be heard saying "We’ve got to stop him. He’s going to kill someone."

Valerio was finally able to end the pursuit with a PIT maneuver.