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Blown-Out Engine Ends Hernando Chase

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TBO.com staff

Published: June 24, 2008

SPRING HILL - A 29-year-old man who led a Florida Highway Patrol trooper on a chase through Hernando County on Tuesday was arrested after the engine of the fleeing car blew and he was forced to stop, authorities said.

Christopher J. Kazakowitz, of 2388 Deltona Blvd., Spring Hill, was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and criminal mischief.

According to the highway patrol, motorists reported a reckless driver about 6:15 p.m. Trooper Jim Johnson spotted a 1993 Toyota four-door sedan driven by Kazakowitz and tried to pull him over.

The Toyota kept going and Johnson saw a female passenger open the car door as if in distress and trying to get out, Sgt. Steve Gaskins of the highway patrol said in a news release.

After several minutes, the Toyota's engine blew and the car lost power. The driver then slammed on the brakes, attempting to cause a crash with Johnson, Gaskins said. The trooper managed to avoid a collision, but the front of his patrol car struck the left rear of the Toyota.

When Kazakowitz was arrested and put in the back seat of the patrol car, he broke the right rear window and injured his hand, Gaskins said. He was taken to Spring Hill Regional Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.

The woman in the Toyota told the trooper she was Kazakowitz's wife and denied any distress between her and her husband. Troopers did not arrest the woman, and she was released after the chase.

Hernando County sheriff's deputies took Kazakowitz to the Hernando County Jail after he was released from the hospital.

Kazakowitz was belligerent during the entire affair, Gaskins said.

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