Four people are dead and 11 are injured after a deadly crash in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood early Saturday morning following a police pursuit.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said the incident started just after 12:40 a.m. when two cars were observed racing westbound on Hillsborough Avenue toward Interstate 275. One car broke off and the other, a silver 2019 Toyota Camry, drove southbound on I-275, later exiting in the downtown area.
Bercaw said the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) initiated a pursuit and attempted a traffic stop and the Camry fled. The FHP attempted a PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver — when police intentionally try to strike the rear of a fleeing vehicle to cause it to spin out and stop. The FHP then backed off the car after the maneuver was unsuccessful.
"After that, unfortunately, this vehicle went at a high rate of speed down 7th Avenue, and tragically, just east of 15th Street, hit over a dozen people," Bercaw said.
The Camry crashed into a crowd outside Bradley's on 7th, a bar in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood — a popular nightlife and tourist area.
Three victims died at the scene and a fourth died at a hospital, police said. A fifth victim is hospitalized and listed in critical condition. Eight victims are being treated at hospitals but listed as stable and two other victims with minor injuries declined treatment at the scene.
"All the victims were over 20 and they were all adults," Bercaw said. "We had four that were here that tragically lost their lives. They were out in Ybor, having a good time, expecting to go home safely. And a careless, reckless driver takes everybody's lives in his hands and just ended this night in a situation that's never going to be the same for these individuals."
Police took into custody suspected driver Silas Sampson, a 22-year-old man from Dade City, Fla. Sampson is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail. The FHP is leading the investigation.
The FHP said Sampson is being charged with four counts each of vehicular homicide and aggravated fleeing to elude, serious bodily injury and/or death. Additional felony charges are expected.
The investigation is ongoing.
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