A high-speed chase through Belleview and Marion Oaks ended in the woods Saturday night when deputies say a driver ditched his BMW and ran.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Zachary Stanton clocked a black 2002 BMW 328i going 66 mph in a 50-mph zone near SE 92nd Loop around 11:30 p.m. The driver, identified as 27-year-old Zuriel Robert Tyrell of Ocala, initially slowed down and signaled as if to pull over. Instead, deputies say he hit the gas.
What followed was a dangerous pursuit that reached 100 mph, with Tyrell blowing through a red light at U.S. Highway 441 and weaving west down County Road 484 before deputies briefly lost sight of him. A second pursuit soon picked up after another deputy spotted the car, but it ended when the BMW plowed into the woods. Tyrell allegedly bailed on foot, but a K-9 unit and Air-1 tracked him down hiding in the brush.
Deputies say Tyrell admitted to being behind the wheel and told them he ran because he “just wanted to go home.” He also acknowledged he did not have a valid license—something records show he’s already been convicted of twice in Marion County.
Tyrell now faces felony charges of fleeing and eluding, driving without a license (third or subsequent offense), and resisting arrest without violence. He was medically cleared at TimberRidge before being booked into the Marion County Jail with no bond.
