L to R: Captain Keith Gaston, Sergeant Rich Davis & his wife Kim,
and Captain Rick Kelley & his wife Tracey enjoy the 200 Club banquet.

Sergeant Richard Davis, Jr. was honored by the 200 Club of Jacksonville at their annual awards banquet held at the Timaquanna Country Club in Jacksonville. Sergeant Davis was honored as a result of his investigation of a road rage incident that resulted in a traffic fatality on Butler Boulevard.

Background: On Sunday, November 13, 2005, a fatal traffic crash occurred on Butler Boulevard just east of San Pablo Road. Corporal Richard Davis, Jr. responded to the scene. Upon his arrival, he found a Ford Taurus that had struck a guardrail causing the unrestrained driver to be partially ejected. The driver died at the scene. Corporal Davis began interviewing witnesses who had observed the driver of the Ford Taurus on the roadway along with a beige colored Toyota Land Cruiser. The driver of the Land Cruiser was apparently driving aggressively just prior to the crash.

Witnesses stated that the driver of the Ford came off the ramp from Hodges Boulevard traveling eastbound on Butler Boulevard and moved into the left lane in front of the Toyota. The driver of the Toyota began to tailgate the driver of the Ford in an attempt to get her to move over. The driver of the Ford tapped her brakes to get the driver of the Toyota to back off. When both of these vehicles cleared traffic, the driver of the Toyota moved to the right lane and both drivers began to race their vehicles side-by-side at approximately 85-95 mph. The driver of the Toyota eventually passed the driver of the Ford and moved over into the left lane and the driver tapped his brakes. The driver of the Ford swerved to the right and lost control striking the guardrail. The driver of the Toyota continued eastbound toward the beach.

Another witness called Crime Stoppers after learning what had happened from TV reports and gave a tag number of the Toyota because the driver of that vehicle had sped past him after the crash, but he didn't know if it had anything to do with the crash. Corporal Davis interviewed this witness further because the tag number that he gave came back to a different type of vehicle than the one described. After consulting DAVID (Driver and Vehicle Identification Database) using the laptop in his patrol car, Corporal Davis changed the D of the tag number to a Q and found a vehicle that fit the description that came back registered to an individual in Ponte Vedra Beach. After several attempts to locate the individual, he talked to the maid at the house and found out that he was a doctor at St. Luke's Medical Center. After interviewing the doctor at his office, he admitted to being involved in the incident. After further investigation, Corporal Davis arrested the doctor for Vehicular Homicide. If not for Corporal Davis's thorough investigation, this road rage case may not have been solved.