Florida Highway Patrol dashcam footage shows a driver weaving through I-275 traffic in Pinellas County, swerving between vehicles in an apparent attempt to avoid troopers before slamming into another car on the highway.
The footage, released by the Florida Highway Patrol, shows the suspect attempting to avoid troopers as the vehicle wove through packed lanes of traffic before crashing into another vehicle, as reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay. The outlet’s video, published Friday afternoon, does not specify the exact stretch of I-275 where the crash occurred, nor does it detail injuries, arrests, or charges stemming from the incident.
What is clear from the dashcam clip is the danger such maneuvers pose to everyone else on the road. Under Florida law, fleeing or attempting to elude a marked law enforcement vehicle running its lights and sirens is a mandatory third-degree felony, carrying up to five years in prison. Florida trial courts are legally barred from withholding a conviction once a driver is found guilty of the charge, according to the Sammis Law Firm, which notes the state eliminated misdemeanor penalties for fleeing and eluding back in 2003, making every such offense a felony.
Fleeing Troopers Carries Automatic Reckless Driving Charge
Separately, state law treats fleeing a law enforcement officer in a vehicle as reckless driving per se, an offense that on its own can bring fines and up to 90 days in jail for a first offense, with steeper penalties if the flight results in property damage or injury. The Florida Senate’s own statute language defines reckless driving as operating a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property…