TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A high-speed chase ended with a man behind bars Monday after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper performed a PIT maneuver, sending the suspect’s vehicle spinning across I-275.
The incident began around 10:30 p.m. with an attempted traffic stop. Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said they were trying to get the driver, 48-year-old Jesse Richard Long, to pull over, but he sped off.
Tampa Bay Rodeo rider run over by horseback rider after performing backflip
A helicopter followed Long as he drove onto I-275 in his white Mercedes Benz SUV. Troopers were called to assist and soon spotted Long just north of mile post 48, according to the FHP.
As troopers flashed their lights, they said Long started moving over to the shoulder “but continued to roll at a slow rate of speed” and began “creating an extreme hazard to traveling motorists.”
He then sped up, reaching over 105 mph as he once again fled from law enforcement, according to authorities. Troopers said Long reached speeds nearly double the 55 mph posted speed limit…