Dash camera video shows dirt bike driver crashing during high-speed chase in Ocala

A high-speed chase ended with a motorcycle driver crashing into a ditch, according to a dash camera video the Marion County Sheriff’s Office released.

The video, captured at 9:45 p.m. on Monday, shows a sheriff’s deputy attempting to stop Jonathan Johnson, 39, riding a dirt bike near the intersection of Oak Road and Hickory Track Road in Ocala. The driver turned onto Hickory Track Road and started to slow down.

Johnson then turns back, looks at the patrol vehicle, and speeds off. However, the chase didn’t last long. At the end of the road, Johnson couldn’t stop in time and crashed into the woodline.

From the bottom of a ditch, Johnson put his hands up and surrendered. Deputies say Johnson fled because he didn’t have a motorcycle endorsement on his license, and the bike was reported stolen.

Johnson faces charges of fleeing, grand theft, and operating a motorcycle without an endorsement. He was released from the Marion County Jail on Wednesday after posting a $12,000 bond.