Police: Man beats security guard, carjacks limo driver, backs into police vehicle in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. — A man who was kicked out of a downtown bar early Monday beat a security guard, carjacked a limousine driver, drove against traffic, backed up into an unmarked police truck and crashed into a planter, the Orlando Police Department said.

Keith Cormier, 32, seemed to be under the influence "of something" when he was kicked out of Bullitt Bar on East Pine Street near South Court Avenue, Orlando police Lt. Jonathan Bigelow said.

Cormier started walking toward The Plaza, beat a security guard who approached him and ran away, Bigelow said.

Police said Cormier opened the driver's door of a Ford Excursion limousine parked outside Gitto's Pizza, pulled out the driver, hopped into the driver's seat and drove against traffic on East Pine Street.

The limo driver, whose face was lacerated during the struggle, flagged down officers in an unmarked patrol truck shortly after 1:30 a.m. to notify them of what happened, investigators said.

The officers found the limo, which was stopped in traffic facing the right direction on East Pine Street east of South Orange Avenue, and they pulled up behind it, police said.

Investigators said Cormier  put the vehicle in reverse, crashed into the police truck, drove around a vehicle that was stopped in front of the limo and drove onto a sidewalk.

"It is (believed) the suspect was just trying to get out of the area quickly," Bigelow said. "And in doing so, (he) backed up to create distance from the vehicle stopped in front of him in order to drive around it when it impacted the unmarked truck."

Cormier  plowed into a tree in a concrete planter about 50 feet from the crash scene, causing minor damage to the City Arts Factory building, police said.

"A passerby immediately rushed over to the suspect vehicle and assisted with apprehending the suspect as officers were approaching the suspect vehicle," Bigelow said.

Tytiana Leigh said she was working at the pizzeria when the man ran up scarred and bloodied.

"He was trying to leave out of our back door, and we weren't having that," she said. "We had our security guard here, and like five minutes after that he basically stole this driver's limo Escalade."

The incident remains under investigation.

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