INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – The pursuit of a U-Haul van by Brevard County deputies ended in Fellsmere when police deflated its tires causing it to crash in a ditch where Indian River County deputies surrounded and arrested the driver, law enforcement officials said.

Traffic was briefly stopped at some intersections and some roads were closed between 4 and 5 p.m. as the pursuit moved through the city. It ended just outside city limits along the side of 89th Street and South Willow Street, Fellsmere police and Indian River County Sheriff’s Office officials said.

Brevard County deputies requested help from local law enforcement just after 4 p.m. by notifying nearby officers and deputies of a pursuit of a stolen vehicle making its way south on Babcock Street Southeast in Palm Bay, said Indian River County sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Jaworski.

Fellsmere police were first to encounter the van driven by Eric Kelly, 50, of Cocoa, he said.

Fellsmere police waited for the vehicle, and one officer used spike strips to deflate its tires, said Fellsmere Police Chief Keith Touchberry.

“Our role when a pursuit comes through our city is to make sure intersections are clear, so no one is harmed or injured,” said Touchberry.

He said he was directing traffic through an intersection when he saw the van attempting to speed through a turn without stopping and it hit a road sign.

Local sheriff’s deputies, who Jaworski said were trained in using their vehicles to stop a fleeing vehicle with the precision immobilization technique, took over the lead in the pursuit, Jaworski said.

The PIT maneuver is one in which a pursuing vehicle forces a fleeing vehicle to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop.

The van’s two flat tires ultimately caused it to slide off the road and into a ditch where it became stuck and where deputies blocked it from escaping, he said.

No one was injured throughout the incident, but a deputy’s windshield was cracked by a falling tree limb broken by the van in the pursuit down a dirt road, Jaworski said.

Kelly was arrested and charged locally with fleeing and eluding law enforcement, leaving the scene of a crash, reckless driving and not having a valid driver’s license. He was wanted on a warrant out of Brevard County.

According to Brevard County clerk records, an arrest warrant was issued Jan. 16 charging Kelly with probation violation for failing to report to his probation officer following convictions on drug and paraphernalia possession.

Another man who was described as the van passenger was not charged and was released, Jaworski said.

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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow @coreyarwood, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: 2-county law enforcement pursuit of stolen U-Haul ends in Fellsmere crash; 1 arrest