Deputies arrested four people after a car fled a traffic stop near Gibsonton Drive and I-75 on Oct. 19. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office gave the details in a release on Oct. 27.
Deputies say they tried to stop the car at 10:05 PM for failing to maintain its lane. The driver did not stop and fled at a high rate of speed. Covert deputies followed the car through multiple roadways in Hillsborough County. The HCSO Aviation Unit helped track the car.
Deputies say the car went outside a guardrail and into a construction zone. The car then crashed into an embankment near I-75 and North U.S. Highway 301. Deputies detained the driver and one passenger a short distance from the crash. They detained the two other passengers at the crash scene.
Deputies say they found a bag of crushed Diazepam pills in the car. They also say the driver's license was revoked. The driver, 29, faces six charges. These include fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer. He also faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crash with property damage.
The three passengers are ages 27, 36 and 33. Each faces charges of possession of a controlled substance and trespass on a construction site.
During the incident, another vehicle hit an HCSO corporal's patrol car from behind on northbound I-75. The 30-year-old corporal sat in the car with its emergency lights on. She went to Tampa General Hospital. The hospital released her on Oct. 20.
Florida Highway Patrol investigated that crash. FHP cited the other driver for careless driving. Sheriff Chad Chronister urged drivers to follow Florida's Move Over law. The Sheriff's Office says the investigation remains ongoing.
