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Hillsborough Fire Rescue Driver Hurt In Attack

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TBO.com

Published: August 26, 2008

Updated: 08/26/2008 07:37 pm

An off-duty firefighter with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue was attacked this afternoon by a man armed with a box cutter, authorities said.

Benjamin Harrison, 45, a driver engineer who has been with the department for 13 years, was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital. He is expected to be released tonight, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

The attack happened about 12:40 p.m. when Harrison, driving his personal vehicle, noticed a car swerving on a Valrico road, the sheriff's office said. Harrison suspected the driver was drunk, called 911 and followed the car.

The driver, Richard Martin Bruneau, 43, of 5455 Burgess Ave., Cocoa, stopped his car at the entrance of a mobile home park on Valrico Road. Harrison used a ruse and told Bruneau that something had fallen off his vehicle, the sheriff's office said.

When Bruneau went to the rear of his car to check, Harrison removed the keys from the ignition. A struggle ensued and Bruneau attacked the firefighter with a box cutter, authorities said. Harrison suffered a severe laceration on the right lower leg.

Bruneau ran away, but deputies in a sheriff's helicopter located him. He was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and taken to Orient Road Jail. Booking information was not immediately available.

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