POLK COUNTY, Fla. — An Orlando man who fled the country to avoid going to trial for driving drunk and causing a crash that left two people seriously injured will finally be punished, more than 15 years later.
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The crash happened back on May 20, 2006, on Interstate 4 in Polk County, just to the west of State Road 559.
Responding troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol arrived to find a white 2006 Jaguar on the shoulder of the roadway that appeared to be split in half, and an orange Honda Element overturned on its roof.
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FHP crash investigators determined that the Jaguar had been traveling eastbound on I-4 and “failed to maintain a single lane.”
The Jaguar driver, later identified as then 27-year-old Faisal Javaid of Orlando, overcorrected and lost control of the car, crossing the median into westbound traffic where it collided with the Honda.
Troopers say the impact of the crash sheared the Jaguar in half and left the Honda on its roof.
Javaid was thrown from his car and received treatment from Polk County EMS.
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The occupants of the Honda were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries described by FHP as “life-altering.”
Throughout their investigation into the crash, troopers say they noticed Javaid exhibiting possible signs of impairment, prompting them to draw his blood and revealing that his blood-alcohol content level was more than one and a half times beyond the legal limit at the time of the crash.
FHP filed charges against Faisal for driving under the influence with serious bodily injury, and the case was scheduled for trial in 2008.
That’s when troopers say Javaid fled the country, traveling to Pakistan and Kenya.
According to FHP, the victims waited for 15 years to receive an update on the case, when in May of 2023, the same troopers who started the investigation received a call from the State Attorney’s Office, informing them that Javaid had returned to the United States by way of Orlando International Airport, and was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear in court during his DUI trial.
Finally, on Friday, April 5, a Polk County jury found Javaid guilty of two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury- nearly 18 years after the crash.
Javaid, now 45 years old, faces up to 10 years in state prison. His sentencing is scheduled for May 15.
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