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Volusia County Corrections via NBC Miami
Robert Boudreaux, 31 .
A central Florida man carjacked a driver in a desperate attempt to get his pregnant girlfriend to the hospital, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
Robert Boudreaux, 31, of Deltona allegedly walked into the path of a car to force it to stop, and threatened to shoot the driver if he didn't give him and his 22-year-old girlfriend a ride. He later forced the driver out at a red light, the sheriff’s office said in a statement, and got behind the wheel.
The couple's saga started when the girlfriend's car ran out of gas in DeLand, she told police. A friend picked them up and dropped them off in the town of Deltona, only a few miles away. The couple then walked for several miles, and the woman started to feel dehydrated and began to bleed, the sheriff's office said. Volusia County Sheriff's Office Spokesman Brandon Haught told NBC News that police did not know where the couple was going.
Around noon, Boudreaux tried unsuccessfully to flag down cars on North Normandy Boulevard, the sheriff's office said. When that failed, Boudreaux allegedly turned to carjacking.
When the vehicle's 20-year-old driver stopped at a red light at the intersection of North Normandy and Elkcam Boulevards, “Boudreaux again got angry and ordered the driver to run the light,” the sheriff’s office said. “The driver refused and Boudreaux grabbed the driver’s seat belt, using it to force him back against the seat while Boudreaux yelled that he would shoot the driver if he didn’t get out.”
The man got out of his car and Boudreaux drove off, while the man called 911. The driver told police he never actually saw a gun, the sheriff’s office added.
Deputies quickly spotted the car. They said Boudreaux used a turning lane to pass other vehicles and erratically shifted between lanes as he refused to stop.
Even after he pulled into the parking lot of Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City, Boudreaux continued to evade authorities until the car he was driving was trapped by patrol cars, the sheriff’s office said.
He was taken into custody and faces charges of armed carjacking, fleeing or eluding and driving with a suspended license, according to the sheriff’s office. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.
Deputies took the girlfriend to the hospital’s emergency room, where she was treated for heat exhaustion and later released. She told them she tried to get Boudreaux to stop and does not face any charges, the sheriff’s office said.
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