Crime & Safety

Deputies Search for Suspect Who Fled from Crash

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is searching for a suspect who fled from a deputy and subsequently flipped his car on I-275 Thursday.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is investigating a crash in which a vehicle flipped over on I-275 after the car was fleeing from a Pinellas deputy.

According to investigators, a deputy attempted to conduct a stop on a vehicle for a traffic violation. The deputy was behind the suspect's vehicle that was heading northwest on Roosevelt Boulevard at 28th Street in St. Pete.

When the deputy attempted to conduct the stop, deputies said the suspect did a u-turn over the grassy median and proceeded southeast on Roosevelt Boulevard and fled.

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The deputy had initiated a brief pursuit, but then terminated it.

According to the Sheriff's Office, a citizen then informed the deputy that a vehicle had flipped over on I-275 and had become engulfed in flames.

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When the deputy responded, she realized the flipped vehicle was the same one she had attempted to conduct the traffic stop on.

The suspect in the vehicle had exited the flipped car and fled on foot. Deputies set up a perimeter; and K-9 and the Sheriff's helicopter responded to assist.

At this time deputies have identified the suspect and are attempting to locate him, the Sheriff's Office said. 


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