SEFFNER, Fla. — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper ended a high-speed run on Interstate 4 near Seffner in eastern Hillsborough County early Saturday by spinning the car out with a PIT maneuver, and the driver was taken to jail, according to the patrol.
The trooper was running speed enforcement near mile marker 12 on I-4 at about 3:15 a.m. when radar caught a white Toyota Camry moving at 108 mph, FHP said in its report. The trooper pulled out of a paved median crossover to catch up to the car.
According to the patrol, the Camry wove from lane to lane to get around other traffic. When the trooper switched on the blue lights and siren, the brake lights flashed briefly, then the car sped up and passed two more vehicles.
The car then cut back toward the outside lane and nearly struck a vehicle it had just gone around, troopers said. The driver took the exit ramp at high speed toward County Road 579, which is also known as Mango Road.
On that ramp area the trooper used a PIT maneuver, and the Camry spun out and stopped in the median of County Road 579. The trooper then pinned the driver door with a push bumper so the driver could not run, according to the arrest report.
The driver, whom the patrol named as Cassia Celeste Payoute, 36, was arrested at the scene. She was then booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, and the Florida Highway Patrol is handling the case.
No injuries were listed in the patrol report. The stretch of I-4 near Seffner and Mango Road carries heavy traffic between Tampa and Plant City at most hours of the day.
Section: More Tampa FL crime news
Filed under: Tampa FL Traffic News
