Crash on I-75 leads to helicopter theft attempt in Hernando County

Riley Ferrer, 28, was arrested after a northbound I-75 crash in Hernando County shortly after midnight Friday, June 19, turned into a second emergency at the roadside. Florida Highway Patrol said Ferrer lost control of his pickup truck, struck another vehicle and overturned in a wooded area off the interstate, leaving two people in the other vehicle seriously injured.

As crews moved to transport the injured by air, a MedTrans Florida medical helicopter landed on the roadway at the crash scene. Investigators said Ferrer ran past personnel, approached the aircraft and tried to open the pilot’s door in an apparent attempt to take the helicopter, forcing responders to secure both the wreck and the landing zone at the same time.

Troopers said Ferrer’s behavior was erratic throughout the scene. He told authorities he had seen the Antichrist before the crash, then paced around and did not respond normally to investigators’ questions. He was taken first to Tampa General Hospital Brooksville for medical clearance, where deputies said he continued resisting instructions, and then to the Hernando County Detention Center, where he refused to remove his jewelry and answered bluntly when told to do so.

Ferrer ultimately faced three counts of resisting an officer without violence and one count of burglary of an occupied conveyance. He was held on bond for the resisting counts and without bond on the burglary charge before later being released on bond.

The crash underscored how quickly a wreck on Interstate 75 can spill into multiple public-safety operations in Hernando County. The same corridor has remained a dangerous one for drivers and first responders, and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says traffic crash reports can take up to 10 days to become available, which can slow confirmation of details while troopers and crews are still dealing with the aftermath. Just days earlier, a Sarasota Herald-Tribune report described another fatal I-75 crash in the region, when a 36-year-old Sarasota man died on June 14.