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Man Who Carried Officer From Cruiser Says 'It Just Exploded'

Tribune photo by JAY CONNER

A head-on collision caused this Tampa police department cruiser to catch fire Monday.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 5, 2008

Updated: 05/05/2008 08:59 pm

TAMPA - Marti Ottley, whose vehicle crashed head-on into a Tampa police cruiser today, has been charged with DUI with serious injury, driving with a suspended license with knowledge and careless driving, police say.

Ottley, 39, of Tampa remained in a hospital this afternoon.

The crash occurred about 6:30 a.m. today.

Shortly before the crash, Archie Thomas and his wife, Angela Cook, were on their way to his job when they saw Ottley's 1994 Jeep Cherokee stopped at a green light. They beeped their vehicle's horn, which startled Ottley, who took off and began swerving back and forth, Thomas said.

Thomas said he and his wife tried to flag down a deputy to stop the Jeep. But it ran a red light, crossed the centerline of the four-lane road and crashed head-on into Officer Tara Edwards' police cruiser on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near North 27th Street, Thomas said.

Edwards could not get out of the cruiser because of her injuries, Thomas said.

Thomas, a 40-year-old father of three, rushed to her aid.

He said he was afraid to move Edwards because she was bleeding badly, and he thought she might have a severe head wound. Her cruiser was smoking, though, and he feared what might happen if he didn't act quickly.

He unfastened her seat belt and carried her to safety.

Marti Ottley

"Thirty, 40 seconds later, it just exploded," Thomas said of the cruiser. "I knew if I reacted fast enough I could get her out in time."

Cook, a registered nurse, helped provide first aid to the injured officer.

"When he removed her, the vehicle was smoldering," Lt. Diane Hobley-Burney said. "Once he got her to safety on the sidewalk, it became engulfed in flames. … If you could see the severity of this accident – the officer was probably pretty shaken – the citizen's assistance was essential in assuring her safety."

Thomas said Edwards was incredibly calm, which helped him. "If she had panicked, I probably would've been like, 'Oh my God!'"

Tampa Police Chief Stephen Hogue said Thomas quite possibly saved Edwards' life.

"I would definitely call him a hero," Hogue said at a news conference this morning. "He stopped, rendered aid when, in fact, other people did not stop."

The rescue also put Archie Thomas on the other side of the law.

He was on house arrest when he helped Edwards today, jail records show. He had been convicted of driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license, but he wasn't behind the wheel when today's crash occurred, Tampa police say.

Hillsborough County Cpl. Shane Burton, who helps run the house arrest program, said Thomas' house arrest began Jan. 16 and is slated to end June 24.

Thomas has been convicted on several charges previously, including forgery, cocaine possession and carrying a concealed firearm, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said.

Ottley also has been arrested before. In 1997, she pleaded guilty to DUI and was sentenced the following year to 12 months' probation, state attorney's spokeswoman Pam Bondi said. In 2007, Ottley was arrested on a DUI charge but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving.

Ottley and Edwards, an 18-year police veteran, were taken to Tampa General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after today's crash. Ottley may have a dislocated shoulder, Hobley-Burney said.

Edwards has a compound fracture in one wrist, a broken nose, broken leg and hairline fracture of the kneecap, police said.

"Officer Edwards is in good spirits and her family is with her at the hospital," a news release states.

Hogue said that at an upcoming ceremony, Thomas will be presented with an award for saving an officer's life.

Thomas, who builds and repairs pallets at a business on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Interstate 4, said he went to work after the crash, but his boss sent him home.

The boss, Benedict Flahn, said Thomas is a nice, humble man. Flahn said he isn't surprised Thomas would do something heroic.

Thomas told his boss he was able to work today, but Flahn said no.

"Archie deserved a day off, man," Flahn said.

At today's news conference, Thomas said he didn't consider himself a hero for helping the officer.

"I just did what I thought anybody else would do," he said.

TBO.com producers Beth Gaddis and Daniela Velázquez and Tribune photographer Jay Conner contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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