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Tampa Man Crashes After Being Chased By Deputies

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TBO Staff

Published: January 17, 2009

A 27-year-old man is accused of leading deputies on a nine-minute chase through Carrollwood late Friday, crashing into three other vehicles along the way, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Charlie Ronald Smith Jr., of Tampa, was being treated at University Community Hospital today, records show. Deputies charged him with several felonies, including felony aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felony leaving the scene of a crash with injury and misdemeanor driving without a valid license.

Upon completion of his treatment, he will be held at a county jail on $33,250, records show.

No one else was seriously hurt, deputies said.

It all started about 11:43 p.m., when deputies responded to a report of a fight at 4343 Honey Vista Circle and saw a Mitsubishi speeding away, nearly striking a patrol car, the sheriff's office said.

For the next several minutes, deputies tried to stop the Mitsubishi but the driver eluded them, first attempting to ram a patrol car and then crashing into two other motorists, the sheriff's office said.

The chase came to an end about six miles from Honey Vista Circle, when the Mitsubishi smashed into a Ford Focus, pushing it into a telephone pole at North Boulevard and Ambassador Loop, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies helped the Ford's driver from her car and pulled Smith from the Mitsubishi as the Mitsubishi started to catch fire, the sheriff's office said. Deputies doused the flames with a fire extinguisher.

The sheriff's office said other charges against Smith are pending.

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