Thomas Schaffer, 24, already in jail for fleeing police in a stolen car, has been formally charged with the traffic crash death of a motorcyclist killed in a hit and run crash on March 5.
Thomas Schaffer Charged With Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Death, Aggravated Assault On Police Officers, Aggravated Fleeing, DUI and Reckless Driving
BREVARD COUNTY • TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA – Thomas Schaffer, 24, already in jail for fleeing police in a stolen car, has been formally charged with the traffic crash death of a motorcyclist killed in a hit and run crash on March 5.
Thomas Schaffer
Schaffer, of 880 Forest Road in Titusville, has been charged with Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Death, and numerous other charges involving multiple incidents.
According to the Titusville Police Department, the incident began on March 5 at 8:12 p.m. when a vehicle pulled onto US 1 from the Kennedy Point boat ramp just south of Cheney Highway, and into the path of a northbound Honda motorcycle.
The motorcyclist,Ralston W. Wade, 56, of Cocoa, was killed, and the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash fled the scene.
In the early morning hours of March 6 at 2 a.m, Brevard County Deputies and Titusville Police Officers attempted to stop a stolen 2013 Red Chevrolet truck on US 1 in south Titusville that had been stolen shortly after the hit and run crash that killed Ralston.
According to police, the driver of the truck, later identified as Schaffer, fled at a high rate of speed, driving through the road closure from the earlier fatality scene, and nearly striking officers still investigating crash at the scene.
Todd Hutchinson
“Our officers deployed Stop Sticks, and the driver was eventually apprehended near the area of Sandra Drive in Titusville,” said Titusville Police Commander Todd Hutchinson in a release.
“Schaffer continued to resist officer’s attempt to handcuff him after being removed from the truck. He was booked into the Brevard County jail on numerous charges that night including Aggravated Assault On Police Officers, Aggravated Fleeing, DUI, and Reckless Driving.”
Later on morning of March 6, the vehicle that was involved in the motorcycle fatality, a 2001 Pontiac Bonneville, was discovered abandoned near the location that the Red truck had been stolen from.
According to police, a bloodhound ran a track from the abandoned vehicle, to the exact location of where the Red truck was stolen from.
“Titusville Detectives have been aggressively working numerous leads on this case since the fatality,” said Commander Hutchinson.
“Both physical evidence and witness statements place Schaffer as the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed the motorcyclist and fled the scene.”
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ORIGINAL POST: March 6, 2015
VIDEO: Titusville Man Leads Police On Wild Chase
ABOVE VIDEO: The Brevard County Sheriff’s helicopter video recorded Thomas Schaffer’struck weaving through North Brevard County neighborhood streets, driving backward, and ramming two police cars.(WFTV video)
BREVARD COUNTY • TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA – Thomas Schaffer, 24, lead law enforcement on a wild chase on Friday morning, and is now facing charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, aggravated battery on an officer and fleeing.
The incident began at about 2 a.m. Friday as the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Deputies and Titusville police officers suspected Schaffer of stealing a Chevrolet pick up truck in Port St. John.
From there, Schaffer continued on to Rosehill Avenue and Cleveland Street where he began driving backward, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
After police deployed stop sticks, Schaffer’s truck blew a rear tire, but continued on the rim as he fled on to the Jackson Middle School property.
According to police, the chase then went into the River Oaks subdivision, and Schaffer turned on a dead end where the truck got bogged down in sugar sand and officers converged on the truck.
