Two Putnam County men arrested after woman dies in racing crash

Posted 3/7/24

PALATKA – Two men were charged with vehicular homicide by the Florida Highway Patrol after a woman passenger died on June 27 after they crashed while racing south of Green Cove Springs. Clifton …

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Two Putnam County men arrested after woman dies in racing crash

Clifton Jerome Flagler

Derrick Damarius Evans

Posted Thursday, March 7, 2024 12:30 pm

PALATKA – Two men were charged with vehicular homicide by the Florida Highway Patrol after a woman passenger died on June 27 after they crashed while racing south of Green Cove Springs.

Clifton Jerome Flagler, 22, and Derrick Damarius Evans, 20, both from Palatka, were accused of going 132 mph. Evans was racing his Toyota against Flagler’s Chevrolet when he ran off the road and onto the shoulder. The car rotated, hit a culvert and became airborne. While in the air, the car was cut in half when it struck a tree near County Road 15A at 11:25 p.m. The passenger, who was wearing a seatbelt, was still partially ejected, FHP said. Both were unconscious and transported to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, where the woman died.

According to FHP, a passenger in Evans’ car was the sister of the victim. She said the two men were racing at the time of the crash. The victim was doing a live Instagram post while they were racing, and it showed the speedometer at 120 mph in a 60 mph zone. The live video included a four-second clip of Evans racing against Flagler.

Both were also charged with illegal racing.

Evans also was arrested on Nov. 21. 2022, for careless driving, running a traffic signal and having an expired tag while driving in Orange Park. His bond was set at $210.005.

Flagler’s bond was set at $110,005.