Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Hit and Run and Hit

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

In Pinellas, what started as a simple "Hit and Run" led to a chase and another wreck...

PINELLAS — A 33-year-old man from Palm Harbor was arrested early last week after a hit-and-run crash led to a chase that ended in a wreck on the Dunedin Causeway with no injuries.

The incident began about 6:45 a.m. when the suspect, driving a Hummer, struck a parked pickup off the side of Causeway Boulevard near the drawbridge, deputies said.

The victim, a foreman for Roland Inc., was doing paperwork at the time his vehicle was rear-ended. After the crash, deputies said, the suspect backed up and fled the scene.

Deputies then spotted the suspect shortly afterward as he traveled south on Alt. U.S. 19 near San Jose Boulevard in Dunedin. They tried to conduct a traffic stop, but he refused to stop, deputies said, instead fleeing and eluding.

Deputies tried at several points to try and use stop sticks to disable the Hummer, but the suspect was able to see them and drive around them. In one case, the suspect even saw a deputy deploying the stop sticks and drove off the road at the deputy, committing an aggravated assault!

The suspect then also tried to ram and force pursuing deputies off the road several times throughout the chase.

The chase eventually came back onto Causeway Boulevard, reaching speeds of more than 55 mph.

The reckless driver then crashed through the gate to Honeymoon Island State Park, which was closed at the time. But the park only has one entrance and deputies then deployed stop sticks there. Unable to go anywhere else, the desperate fugitive tried to drive back through the entrance and ran over the stop sticks, flattening his tires, deputies said.

He tried to keep driving, but was then rammed by a deputy's cruiser, forcing his Hummer off the road into a power pole.

Deputies forcibly pulled the suspect from the vehicle. He was wearing only a T-shirt and boxers. According to reports, deputies found several types of prescription drugs, including oxycodone and morphine and eight syringes.

The suspect eventually told deputies he was planning on fishing from the causeway when, for some reason, he went off the road and crashed. Oddly enough, deputies didn't find any fishing tackle.

The expert fisherman now faces charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, and possession of hydrocodone, diazepam, methadone and morphine.

As of this writing, he was being held at the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $160,250 bail.

Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a fleeing and eluding or criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!

Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.