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Man leads Pasco deputies on 130 mph chase with kids in car

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By RONNIE BLAIR | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 17, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - A Lakeland man is in jail after he led Pasco County Sheriff's Office deputies on a 27-mile chase into Hernando County with two small children in the back seat, the sheriff's office reported.

Damon Benjamin Blanford, 28, of 1501 Providence Road, ran red lights and reached speeds close to 130 miles an hour during the Friday night chase, an arrest report said.

The children, ages 2 and 4, were not in child safety seats, the report said.

The deputy originally attempted to stop Blanford on U.S. 19 at Ridge Road because the blue 2003

Dodge pickup he was driving was similar to the description of a truck involved in a hit-and-run crash that killed Geraldine Ford, 53, of Tarpon Springs the same night, the report said.

As Blanford was chased, he tried to hinder the pursuit by tossing trash out the window into the path of the deputies, by making sudden turns and by turning off his headlights, the report said.

When he finally stopped, Blanford jumped out of the pickup and a loaded handgun fell from his waistband as he ran away, the report said.

After deputies caught him, Blanford said he hadn't stopped because he didn't have a valid driver's license and he faced outstanding warrants in Polk County, the report said. Information about the warrants wasn't available.

Blanford was booked into the Hernando County Jail with bail set at $15,500. Although investigators didn't connect him to the hit-and-run, Blanford faces charges of fleeing in an attempt to elude officers, child neglect, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving.

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