Fleeing SUV heads wrong way across bridge, killing driver

ABC Action News ^ | 12/20/04

[presidio9]

One person is dead after an SUV fleeing from state troopers headed the wrong way across the Howard Frankland Bridge and crashed into oncoming traffic early this morning.

Investigators say that a Honda CRV was involved in a minor fender-bender in the Kennedy-Westshore area around 1:40 a.m., but when troopers arrived on the scene, the vehicle took off, striking a trooper in the process.

"The gentleman in the vehicle refused all FHP trooper commands to stop and step out of the vehicle, backed his car into two FHP patrol cars, and struck Trooper Maddox with the Florida Highway Patrol's Tampa office," Trooper Larry Coggins stated.

The SUV drove southbound across the Howard Frankland in the northbound lanes with, according to one witness, its lights off. After crossing the bridge, it plowed head-on into a Ford pickup truck heading the other way with an impact so violent that both vehicles were barely recognizable afterwards.

The pickup rolled three times, ejecting the three people inside. Passengers Brittney Johnson and Lauren Lukes-Howard, both 17, were hospitalized in serious condition, along with the driver, 26-year-old Roderick Sears of Sarasota.

The driver of the SUV, which turned out to have been reported stolen from Largo the day before, was pronounced dead at the scene after his vehicle rolled twice. His identity had not been released by investigators by mid-morning.

[dc27]

I wonder why the SUV refused to follow the police officer's commands to stop.?

[MediaMole]

Yet another SUV going berserk and killing innocents. When will the madness end?

[Gunrunner2]

"Fleeing SUV heads wrong way across bridge, killing driver"

Darn SUV's. . .always acting up and now one went ahead and killed a guy.

Darn SUV's. . .when will they ever learn.

[MeanWestTexan]

SUV got lose again. I always chain mine to the fence.

[Chad Fairbanks]

That poor, poor driver... He should have known that owning an SUV was dangerous, but did he listen? Nooooo... He thought he could control it, but when it began to flee from the police, he had no chance... The SUV was determined to take someone, anyone, out...

[NonValueAdded]

Is the usual staff of editors on vacation? This is great! Not only do we have a SUV acting on its own volition, but we have superman as the perp: and struck Trooper Maddox with the Florida Highway Patrol's Tampa office. Whoa, don't wanna mess with that guy!

[Chummy]

"...an SUV fleeing from state troopers headed the wrong way across the Howard Frankland Bridge and crashed into oncoming traffic early this morning...."

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

First it's roll-overs and lower mileage, and now they're leaving our garages and wreaking havoc....

[Chad Fairbanks]

Ouch. I was almost struck with the Washington State Patrol's Everett Office once... luckily it missed by a few inches and I avoided serious injury...

[sopwith]

"The gentleman in the vehicle refused all FHP trooper commands to stop and step out of the vehicle, "

The trooper just should have asked the suv to stop.

[dead]

This is getting absolutely comical. No other kind of car spontaneously bursts into maniacal frenzies, killing its drivers or others.

SUVs are almost as evil as guns!

[Tax-chick]

The pickup rolled three times, ejecting the three people inside.

This pickup seems to have been going to school with SUV's.

[NonValueAdded]

It must have fallen on him like a couple of tons of bricks!

[BenLurkin]

A fleeing felon Ford no doubt.

Not just the headline but the lead in the article too. Unbelievable!

[OSHA]

HA! Third paragraph before we find out the SUV had a driver captive victim of it's evil intent.

[Fabozz]

"I wonder why the SUV refused to follow the police officer's commands to stop.?"

It was a Honda—it only understood Japanese. Police should be trained to give commands in SUVs' native tongues, then maybe tragedies like this wouldn't happen.

[b4its2late]

My SUV better listen to me before it ever decides to do anything like that, or I'm going to have to take its' keys away from it and lock it in the garage for a couple days as punishment.....

[ampat]

What the heck are you talking about, The SUV was administering justice to the criminal.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Here's a photo of the poor trooper, who was hit with the State Patrol's Tampa Office...

[You Dirty Rats]

Is the usual staff of editors on vacation?

We ought to get the guy who coined "All your planes are belong to us" and have him become an editor. He can't be any worse than these guys.

I think Journalism majors are too busy taking classes like Slanting the Story 302, Pushing Polls 415 and Saving the Planet 222 to take English Composition 101.