The
northbound lanes of the Florida Turnpike were shut
down south of St. Cloud late Friday morning. The
Florida Highway Patrol is very concerned about a
trooper who became very sick after making a traffic
stop.
The people
inside the car he stopped drove off after making some
sort of threat.
The trooper
is being decontaminated in the emergency room at
ORMC. He had pulled over a black Nissan on the
turnpike. The trooper gave the driver a ticket, the
driver laughed and drove off. The trooper was
overcome by some kind of fumes, could not breathe and
became disoriented.
The driver
and passengers are reportedly two men of Middle
Eastern descent. The car tag is registered in Cape
Coral.
The trooper
is reportedly in stable condition.
© 2001
WFTV-TV
Turnpike,
trooper OK after Jordanian scare
Published
Saturday, October 27, 2001
crabin@herald.com
A
common traffic stop on Florida's Turnpike Friday
turned into search and rescue mission when a Florida
Highway Patrol officer fell ill after ticketing a
Jordanian man for speeding.
Florida's
Turnpike was briefly closed near Orlando while the
officer was airlifted to a local hospital. He was
released after doctors determined he had a panic
attack, and was not poisoned by a chemical or
biological agent.
By
the time the episode had ended, Georgia State
Troopers were told to be on the lookout for Alaa
Ishaq Eljallad, not because of the incident, but
because it was discovered his visa had expired Oct.
18.
Here
is how the events unfolded, according to authorities:
Shortly
after 10 a.m., FHP officer Albert J. Renard was
directed by a FHP pilot to stop a black 1999 Nissan
clocked at 97 mph in a 70 mph zone of Florida's
Turnpike in Osceola County. Renard caught up to the
vehicle and issued Eljallad, 30, of Coconut Creek, a
speeding ticket.
Unexplained:
Why Eljallad's license plate bore the letters
XEQ-SHNR (executioner).
After
Renard issued the speeding ticket to Eljallad, he
crossed the median to head in the opposite direction.
But the seven-year-veteran began feeling ill and
called his supervisor, who dispatched a helicopter.
But
because of Eljallad's nationality, authorities became
concerned that Renard's illness may not have been
coincidental and closed part of the northbound lane
of the Turnpike, before flying the officer to Orlando
Regional Medical Center.
Police
also issued an order for officers to stop Eljallad --
on his way to Atlanta with his girlfriend. He was
stopped 150 miles later in Hamilton County.
Looking
for a haven to conduct an interview, police ordered
his vehicle into an agricultural field there, and
photographed Eljallad and his girlfriend, Jackie
Lambert, 31, of Coral Springs.
They
actually spotted him south of Hamilton in Columbia
County, but knowing the agricultural field was
nearing, decided it was safer to stop Eljallad a
couple of miles up the road, said FHP Major Ken
Howes.
After
it was determined Renard, 39, had suffered a panic
attack, Eljallad and Lambert were released.
``There
was nothing to hold them for, so we let them go,''
Howes said.
Another
law enforcement source familiar with the incident
said Eljallad got a ``thumbs up'' after a check by
officers.
A
further look, however, revealed Eljallad entered the
United States on Dec. 29, 2000, and that his visa
expired Oct. 18. The Georgia State Police were
notified and told to hold Eljallad until Immigration
and Naturalization Services deals with him.
The
St. Andrews at Winston Park rental community where
Eljallad lives was quiet Friday night.
There
was no answer at his second-floor apartment door. All
the lights were off in the well-groomed complex.
A
call to Eljallad's Coconut Creek home went
unanswered. He refers to himself as A.J. on his voice
recorder.
Copyright
2001 Miami Herald
The trooper had pulled over a black Nissan Maxima along the turnpike south of St. Cloud. He had just finished writing the ticket when he collapsed, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said.