Law&Crime Sidebar - Florida 'Karen' Chased Teen Down on Sidewalk: Bodycam

Episode Date: May 25, 2026

In Palm Coast, Florida, 65-year-old Julia Kalthof allegedly took the law into her own hands by using her SUV to chase a 14-year-old along a bike path. Newly released bodycam footage captures the intense confrontation between deputies and Kalthof. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down the investigative video and speaks with the victim's parents, Adam and Christina Ellis, about the terrifying ordeal.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You think it's a smart idea to be driving up on a sidewalk doing 30 miles an hour chasing a kid on a bike? Answer the question. Yep, we now have the footage in a shocking case. A Florida woman lands herself in hot water after she was caught on video chasing a teenager with her car. There's this lady trying to hit me. So we're getting a closer look at the serious scolding she got from deputies. And plus what the teen himself had to say when deputies went to get his side of the story. This is trouble making her kiss.

Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. A quiet night in Palm Coast, Florida quickly took a very strange and potentially dangerous turn last summer. This is when a woman was accused of taking the law into her own hands and trying to chase down with her car a teenager on an e-bike, reportedly so she could scold him for going too fast. You may remember this story. We covered it here on sidebar. We told you about it last June. Because at that time, we were going off of witness video and police reports.

But now we are getting a look at the interviews on police body cam, showing how deputies were able to piece all this together. But it is really the video from then 14-year-old gauge that is so unbelievable because he was riding along the Pine and Lakes bike and walking path next to the road right around nightfall started filming when an SUV. suddenly started following him, getting way too close for comfort. There's this lady trying to hit me. And then there's this other video filmed by a witness showing both Gage and the driver of the SUV flying across the crosswalks. And at times, she seems to get dangerously close to him. Now, a man later told deputies that he saw Gage waving his arms, trying to get someone to

help him. Apparently, his girlfriend wasn't far behind him, driving a separate car. So he told her to start recording on her phone. and at one point she points the camera at her odometer as she's alongside them showing that they're going around 20 miles an hour. And then her boyfriend, again, this witness used his car to essentially block the SUV and let Gage get away. He also reached out to dispatchers to let them know what was going on. And a deputy responded to talk to the witnesses, but by that point, it seems Gage and the suspect were gone. I was just driving.

She was her in behind you. The deputy was going on the walk house. Is that everything from the flags? Like a teenager, you have a murderized right behind them. And it's been what situations right probably and they're at the same case they're most like you guys. A lot of the sidewalk? Yeah.

You hear anything when she's driving up on the floor? Yeah, she said the kid was driving fast and the neighborhood was almost of her dog, which, regretless. Yeah, no. That's not how we deal with things of adults. No, you would think. Now, the deputy was able to get a license plate number from the witness video and track the SUV back to 65-year-old Julia Kalthoff.

And when he confronted her, he didn't hold back. Here's what happened. They don't, they don't know what's going on with their phones. They act like they knew what happened. I live right there. I'm 65 years old. I have both of my hips replaced. I also have a dog who, I was throwing the ball up,

the squeaky toy for him. He wasn't in the street. This boy comes down on the sidewalk, 35, miles down. I'm not kidding you. Two nights ago, or in the evening, I'm on the street that goes along there. He comes right at me. And I was like, you have to slow down when people are here. He thought that was funny. So they go more. And so then, tonight, so I get my car to try to catch him, because I thought he lived in the neighborhood. I wanted to either see where he lived to talk to his mother nicely, or I wanted to talk to him nicely because I thought he was my neighbor.

No, he doesn't even live in here. So then I go after him to try to find him because I know you're never going to find him. And they're all like, you're acting recklessly. I was like, you don't even know what happened. First of all, if he hits me with two replaced hips and I can't walk anymore, because believe me, if I go down, I'm not walking anymore. That's going to be bad enough. If he hits my dog, I don't know if you have a dog, but that's my child.

And I would have called you. Actually, and then I went and got in the Ws. I couldn't get out of the W's. Guess what? Because my GPS won't work. Come on. My phone is, do you want to come in the house? No.

My phone is in the house. I couldn't even use my GPS to get out. But let's go right this way. He could have disabled me for the rest of my life. He's probably, what, 17? He would have gone on the rest of his life. I've been in a great life. And I'd have been in a wheelchair or he would have hit my dog.

And then I would have found him and it would have gotten ugly. What's your name? Julia. Julia? Okay, so I got a video of you driving up on the sidewalk recklessly. You would have hit that kid on a bike and killed him. You're going to jail for manslaughter. You're not going to hit him and kill him.

You're driving recklessly on a sidewalk where people will walk their dogs and ride their bikes. A video of you doing almost 30 miles an hour up that sidewalk. Because I was trying to catch him. Ma'am. I'm listening. I'm listening. Because you're this close to going to jail. I'm listening.

You understand? I understand you're concerned about kids driving. You call us. We do our best to find him, right? You think 65 years old, right, you think it's a smart idea to be driving up on a sidewalk doing 30 miles an hour chasing a kid on a bike? Answer the question. I don't consider that a sidewalk. What do you consider?

There's cars on there all the time. They're parked up on the grass so they can walk on the sidewalk. All right. You are doing, I got you for these three minutes up on the sidewalk driving recklessly over 30 miles an hour from what my reporting party told me. And you can see he was going faster than me. Do you still think you're correct? I said you do it again, you are going to jail. I will never do it again.

You understand what your actions? I do understand. I was very emotional. Okay, so maybe you think you collect yourself as a 65-year-old woman about what you were doing? You would hit anybody else on that sidewalk besides this kid? I could see there was no way. I'm not disagree with you, but I can see it was nobody else. You're wrong.

You're trying to make this sound correct on your end. Okay. You're 100% wrong. I won't stop. All right. You see something that you call us. You don't take it into your own hands. All right, you're right.

God forbid you hit somebody. I promise you, I'll do everything in my power, make sure you go to jail. You're right. Take your car and what else I could do for you. Find out you're doing it again, chasing this kid, even on the road. Oh, God, no. This was... But it was a great idea to follow him on a sidewalk and chase.

No. Like I said, I was like... I hear what you said. I know. You're not, I want you to listen. I'm listening. This kid does it again. You chase him in your car again.

We'll get you for aggravated, that's all. Of course I'm not going to it. But you did it. I know. And you were willing to chase this kid as far as it could go until this other car, this person that called us, stopped you. They blocked you at the sidewalk, correct? Yeah. And where does this make sense to you?

Okay, it does it? Expect if I come back to your house, there's consequences that you're going to be paying. So all's going to take us for this kid to go home and say, there was a car following me. I already know who you are. I know where you live. I know what car you're driving. And I have you on video doing all this. That's plenty of evidence for a judge to say, yeah, we're taking the car.

We're taking her license and she's spending time in jail. Who's going to take care of your dog now? I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just putting all the whole picture together for you. And I'm soaking it in and I'm not disagreeing with you and I'm not arguing with you. And like I said, I wasn't trying to say, I wasn't trying to excuse myself. I was just trying, I wasn't trying to say it was right. I was explaining stupidly where I was coming from.

I recommend you go back inside. Unless you have any other questions from here. All right. Think about what you're doing next time. I'm not even going to say it again. I told you enough, okay? Think about everything you just did too. Okay.

All right. So at this point, since Gage has sped away to safety, investigators weren't so sure who their victim was, but that changed the next day when his parents got in touch from law enforcement. And according to Gage, this woman, Calthoff, had screamed at him, chased him and tried to force him off the path. He was on the side of the arm. That's very good.

It's fucked up, man. Yeah. They don't look back, that's how it looks back. Okay. Does the same thing at the end? No, he finally puts the phone in his pocket. Because that's played with me driving. Yeah.

Yeah, well, we got a driver's lessons yesterday. They're sorry, license but yesterday. So when they get that form? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We also got the video from the other witness, I guess you told him to call 911. Yeah. Oh, I wasn't the one that did the initial investigation. but yeah we spoke with her already we want to we want to whatever the fullest

intent of the law is I want to enforce it yeah I'm sure honestly I haven't dealt with this so let me see what I can do okay okay I said I said the first video to officer Landy at Matanzas High School he's the one that gave you go he said the video did it yeah he said that's a crime so I said we want to do whatever the full intent Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. Because if it's not just him, it's going to be another kid. Yeah, yeah.

Her complaint was not that whatever she did makes it okay, but her complaint was, I guess you were driving too fast or recklessly throughout the area since you wanted to confront you. No, I was, because there was a rock in the road that I had to swerve to not pop my tire. That was the only time that it had been reckless. Dude, people are crazy out here. I mean, regardless of if he was on sidewalk with an e-back, I mean unless he was like

throwing rocks through windows or doing something like high crime, she's at fault because she put her car on a path, right? Oh, I mean, if I saw that, she's getting a fat ticket. You know what I mean? But, I don't know, I mean, she's not trying to run him over with the car. She did.

She cut me off. I don't have proof of that, but she did cut me off. Yeah, yeah. But to try to stop you? Yeah, she overtook me. She went on the grass on the sidewalk. when there was a clear path. She overtook me and I say she was about step back.

She was about that close to me almost to hit me. And she overtook me. Trying to hit you to slam on your brakes or stop or whatever. Yeah, she swirved. So that's when I swerved into the grass and went on to pine lakes and wade someone down. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you do the right thing.

Well, my point is like, it's clear that she's doing to try to make you stop rather than to try to hit you. She's in the car on the sidewalk. you're an e-bike right on the sidewalk. If you wanted it, you should cut up. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I'm going to be completely honest. Like I said, I've never dealt with this.

So let me see what I can do. And if we can, you know, you guys want to press charges. If we can have any of that, then we'll go right ahead and do it. Okay. But I don't even know if we have anything. If I'm going to be completely honest. So let me get back with you guys. I'll get in my car and I will be right back.

Okay. So the deputy does some. some research but can't seem to quite pin down what he'd be able to charge calhoth with well hate to break the news but we don't really have anything um nothing to reach statutory requirements or anything like that we did have anything it'd be like aggravated assault but um she didn't have any criminal intent it was a stop him to talk with him um so that's where we're at they can't do anything he said maybe aggravated assault. I mean that that'd be stretching that would be if she had a criminal intent or hurt him or kill him or whatever the case it may be I

forgot to mention in the intersection because she came on the road originally she when I had to pass the intersection she cut me off like she pulled Oh you did mention that honey no I said when he when she was driving on the sidewalk but she passed in the grass and cut you off yeah but the how she got on the sidewalk is what I'm saying she pulled in and she almost she literally cut me off I could have ran straight into her Yeah. Well, I'm saying if she wanted to hurt you or even worse kill you, she would have sped off and hit your bike and ran you over. You know what I mean? There's no, if we try putting up for anything, their defense attorney could handle it in a heartbeat because there's no 100% proof. You know what I mean? So, sorry to break the news, but. It just sucks because in a blink of an eye, that could have turned. Real bad. Real bad. Yeah. I think.

she'd be in prison, you know what I mean? Yeah. If it did follow through and something bad happened, she's driving on a freaking sidewalk. You know what I mean? She put herself in that scenario. I'm just worried if she's... Obviously, she doesn't have a problem doing it.

Yeah. Well, I mean... Not that there's going to do anything, but a deputy yelled at her yesterday. But Gage's parents aren't giving up. They want to press charges, so they speak with another deputy a day later. So who did you guys speak to, was it yesterday?

Yeah. Be Louse Losey. Boose. Okay. What did he say? He said nothing. He said nothing can be done. He called his supervisor and he said it would be pushing it even if they like charge her with assault or anything. Yeah. So for for something like criminal like that, there has to be intent. And I looked there already interviewed her and she said she was just trying to get your attention. But here's the problem. She put my child a day.

I understand that. So whatever it is, I don't care if we're stretching it to the back. I'm pressing charges. Okay. Let me... You got child endangerment, attend to kidnap, because I don't know how I intend. Yeah. Well, I mean, that's...

You can't attempt to kidnap, but... Dude, I got video of someone chasing on the sidewalk at 20 minutes. I understand. It's definitely something because... Let me call my supervisor and see what he has to say about it. Did you... Is out on the prepared live? Yeah.

Okay, perfect. All right, just give me one second. And I mean, I need a report because if this doesn't go anywhere, I'm legaling up, and I'm going and I'm going balls to the wall against everybody. So I won't charge's press. I want to police report done. Okay. With her info, her license, everything.

All right, just do one second, sir. Well, what I'm going to do? I'm going to do all the paper like I normally would. I'm going to do the case report, and then it's going to go up to detectives and then both take it from there. Okay. Like I said, this is all going up the chain of command, so they're all aware of the incident. A case report should have been done yesterday.

I'm not sure why. I can't speak on the other deputies. And then do you have the video by chance? Because it's not show, it's not, it's not, that's what, uh, wow said yesterday. It was like, it was delayed or something. It was like loaded. It's like keeps on loading. Okay.

Um, what's your, uh, cell phone? When he did stop, she, she's doing this to get him over there. Yeah. She wanted him. She wanted him. So she swerved, like she overtook me. She went on the grass and overtook me, almost hitting me. Mm-hmm.

I swirved over onto Pine Lakes, waving someone down and she got out of her car and told me to come to her. I'm like, no. Okay. You just tried to hit. So that way it's all documented. Obviously it's going to be in the case report too. But that way future reference when I'm doing my report that I can include it as detail as possible.

When I get all this, do I upload it or drop it off? No, this is all going to be done right now. You can take your time on it. Yeah, like no rush. And apparently the deputies will actually come out to this house a third time. But this time, a sergeant is there. So just want to give you a heads up as to what can occur right now. is we're going to go make contact with the female.

She's going to get issued a citation for the reckless driving. She's going to get told the charges are being forwarded to the state on the reckless driving. If the state can come up with some other charges, the state will be able to file those charges. That's what I want. I want to push it to the FAR max. And I'm blaming. I would too as a parent, so I mean, I get it. But at this current juncture from the elements in the video that I'm seeing, that's the most I got right now.

Okay. All right, but I want to at least come here, talk to you, see if you guys had any questions and just let you know what we're doing. We need to make awareness of this. You know, you've seen it. Kids are getting hit or dying, especially on these e-bikes right now. Yeah, something needs, policy needs to be put in place. Some kind. Legislation, we need to change the law in the city because these kids, and mine's no same vagueness.

But these kids are getting a little too much, and then the drivers are getting, are taken along to their own hands. I agree. Because you see stuff that's not reported. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's what I fear for him is this could have been so much worse. Now that same day, two deputies go to Julia Kalthoff's home, okay, the suspect. And they let her explain herself again.

Came outside and he like, wish she passed me on the sidewalk like 35 miles an hour. So I was getting ready to go to Publix and he went that way. So I went this way and I rolled down the window. It's going like this because I was going to be like this because I was going to I try to talk to him, you know, I say, dude, you know, that's, don't do that, you know, you're going to hurt somebody, especially me. I have two replace tips. If you hit me, I'll be in a wheelchair and you'll just go back your business, you know.

What, and the e-bike, if he hits you? Yeah. While you're walking, all you're in the car. Well, I'm on my sidewalk. Oh, okay. Um, but I, let's just get to the point where you were following him. I was following him. and because I wanted to see where he lived.

Okay. And, but he didn't stop. And then these two people are like yelling stuff at me. I'm like, you don't know what happened. Um, so we saw the video. It's just you've driving on the sidewalk, why didn't do that? Well, that was stupid. Unfortunately, I didn't really think of it as a sidewalk.

That's the real house. How is that possible? Well, I'm not saying I'm not. Is you up the road and then? I'm not saying I'm not stupid. I just got here from Maryland. I'm not saying you're stupid either. But sidewalks to me are in white and sidewalks and I see cars from them.

But all I'm going to tell you is it was stupid and ridiculous. That's all I said. It was just freaking ridiculous that I did that. So I just have to review this before I ask you more questions, okay? Are you arresting me now? I have to redo your rights before I question it, okay? So I'm going to ask you incriminating questions. You have the rights to remain silent and anything you say, maybe you're just to read you.

Anything you say maybe use as evidence against you, you have the right to talk to an attorney and have him or her with you now or at any time during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you. If at any time you wish to stop talking or have an attorney present,

all questioning will be stopped your request. Do you understand these rights? Yes. With these rights, are you willing to talk to me? Yes. Okay. So when you were following him, did you ever get close to him?

I don't think so. No, I couldn't catch up with him. So you were trying to catch up to him? Enough that I could talk to him, yeah. So if he's speeding away and you're continuing to follow him, why would you just, why would you keep on following? I just... That's stupid. That's stupid.

So what was going on inside your, what was your emotions like? Mainly, I think I'm going to where he lives now. Like I said, I wanted to talk to him or let his mother know so that it wouldn't happen. I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have done it. So when you were on the sidewalk, did you ever, like, jump in front of them? Nothing, nothing like that. And you didn't try to get in front of them before you started following it? Yeah, before I started following. Or before you went on the sidewalk? Because that's the story I got, that right before you hopped on the sidewalk or maybe as soon as it happened, you kind of like try to cut them off? I tried to come around. I didn't try to cut them off. So you try to go around them, you're saying? Okay. And what was your goal to going around? to him. Okay, how fast were you going?

I'm not as fast as he was. I don't know. Okay, so you were trying to catch up to him even though he's going pretty fast on a sidewalk with a bike, okay? You understand where we're coming from here? I do, I do. Because it's ridiculous. It is. I feel that way too. My, and I can't disagree with you. It is ridiculous. So your main goal was to just try to talk to him. That's it. Absolutely. I'm just going to tell you what it seems like. It seems like. for me, it seemed like this was an anger kind of a driven thing. Is that true or not? I was angry, but I just wanted to talk to him and tell him, you know, I would have spoken. Even I got out of the car and I was like, I just, I even said to him, will you talk to me?

And he said no, and he just, you know, kept going. I mean, so why would you keep on following after that? If he doesn't want to talk to you. That was stupid. Okay. Oh, I wanted to see where he lived to tell his mother. Okay. So you, but you started falling on the sidewalk. That's the main problem here. Gotcha. And what happened once the other, because the other couple or whatever, they blocked you off from, but were you trying to keep on following them after they blocked you all?

Just trying to get away from them. I don't know what they're going to do. Okay. All right. Well, I think they were just trying to help the guy on the bike now because it, from their angle it doesn't look good, you know what I mean? Right, all right. I understand.

I'm going to be honest with you. Based on what we have now, I'm going to be making an arrest on the aggravated assault and the reckless driving too, based on everything that I have, okay? So I'm not needing you turn around for me. And we'll do that. We'll do all that after. Oh, my mother. We'll do all that after.

Okay. We'll do all that after. Here, we can go in the door for you. Yep. That's fine. I'll give you that this back. Just got to have you hang out right back here. When the deputy comes out,

he just has to give you your pockets a pat down just to make sure you don't have anything on you, okay? How did you find the boy? Oh, I'm not sure. I was, I'm coming in on night shift. He's been working the day shift. Now, according to a police report, quote, Julia was placed under arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill, as GE was in fear for his life that he would be struck and reckless driving for driving on a bike path and sidewalk while following him.

Julia also received a uniform traffic citation. Julia was transported to the Flagler inmate facility without incident. Now, I had a chance to speak with Gage's parents, Adam and Christina last year, when this first happened. told me that seeing the video that Gage took, that was scary enough. But when they saw the witnesses video, they knew that their son came really close to being seriously hurt. We introduced ourselves and thanked him and then his girlfriend was with him. And she said, hey, I have the video. Do you want it? She said, I uploaded it to the police department. And I was like, yes, yes, please. And she showed us the video. And that video, my heart sank.

Gages was pretty intense, but looking at Britney's video, just really put it all together. It was like, holy cow. And then the more you watch it, your heart just sinks because not once, but twice, she came pretty close to hitting him. What happens? January this year, Julia Calthoff entered a no contest plea to both charges. And according to Flagler County court record, she was sentenced to three years of probation. She also had to spend 10 days in jail with credit for two days.

That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can also check us out at NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, ex-instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you next time, everybody.