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A “habitual” offender was caught on-camera driving backwards on a busy Florida roadway, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Department said.
The department said “multiple callers” reported that a driver in a silver sedan was driving backwards along SR 100, a busy highway serving northeast Florida, on March 13.
Video shows the silver vehicle maneuvering backwards around the median highway split on a busy road.
William Murphy III told deputies he thought reversing to AutoZone was his best option after a supposed mechanical failure. (Flagler County Sheriff’s Department)
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The sheriff’s office said its Time Crime Center tracked the vehicle to a Panda Express parking lot, and deputies stopped the vehicle near SR 100 and Airport Road after it had turned around and was facing in the correct direction.
The driver, identified as William Murphy III, 47, of Palm Coast, said the car had a mechanical issue, and he “thought the best option” was to drive it backward to AutoZone, officials said.
“Except his mechanical issues evaporated when deputies got behind him … or was it in front of him?” the sheriff’s office said.
Florida man William Murphy III, a habitual offender with 10-plus prior convictions, claimed a mechanical issue forced him to drive backwards on SR 100 before his arrest. (Flagler County Sheriff’s Department)
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In police worn body camera video, Murphy is heard attempting to explain away his reverse driving.
“I didn’t think that I was that bad … you know what I’m saying … I wasn’t even swerving or anything like that or driving fast,” Murphy told the deputy.
“You were driving backward on the road!” the deputy is heard replying.
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Flagler County deputies arrested Palm Coast man William Murphy III for habitual driving while license suspended after he was caught on camera driving backwards on SR 100. (Flagler County Sheriff’s Department)
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Deputies arrested Murphy for habitual driving while license suspended or revoked, saying he had 10-plus prior convictions.
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Murphy was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and later released on $1,000 bond.
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