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Driver with a history held in hit-and-run

The man, accused of ramming a car with his SUV, has had his license revoked four times since 2002, records show.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published August 3, 2006

LARGO - Police have arrested a man they say was driving without a valid license in June when he rammed his Ford Explorer into the back of a Toyota Camry carrying an older couple and their son in Largo.

Paul Hugh Martin Jr., whose license had been revoked four times since 2002, was driving south on Missouri Avenue on June 24, when he struck the car, jumped the median and left the scene heading north on Missouri, police say.

Martin, a habitual traffic offender, has numerous traffic violations dating back to 1995, when he was cited for reckless driving, records show.

Eighty-one-year-old Don Ingham, a passenger in the Camry, suffered a concussion, broken nose and laceration over his left eye.

His wife, Shirley, 77, injured her neck, and his son, Bruce, who was driving, suffered a head injury.

"To me, I just can't believe someone could hit two elderly people and keep going," Shirley Ingham said Wednesday. "He shouldn't even be driving."

Martin was arrested Monday on three felony counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving injury and one charge of driving with a revoked license as a habitual traffic offender.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Martin was being held on $6,200 bail on recent charges.

Largo Police Sgt. George Edmiston said the case had been delayed and did not receive proper attention until he took it over on July 24. Edmiston tracked down witnesses who identified Martin and his vehicle. And the Explorer was found at THG Rentals & Sales on North Hercules in Clearwater.

Martin was arrested at his Clearwater home after Clearwater police responded to a family disturbance there.

Edmiston said Clearwater officers knew of the investigation.

Shirley Ingham said her husband had 11 stitches removed from above his eye and his bruises are healing, but he hasn't been the same since the incident, she said.

"Before, I could get him out walking, and I haven't been able to since," she said.

Edmiston called Martin "one of the worst drivers" he's seen.

In April 2001, Martin was cited for careless driving, when he struck and killed a man who was changing his tire on the Howard Frankland Bridge.

He told police his car veered into the emergency lane when he reached for his cell phone.

Martin was driving the same vehicle that was involved in the June 24 accident, Edmiston said.

About a month before the 2001 accident, Martin was charged with drunken driving when he crashed into a truck on the Courtney Campbell Parkway.

The charge was dropped when he pleaded no contest to reckless driving.

Martin has also been charged with possession of barbiturates and driving with a revoked license. He was sentenced to six months for violating probation on each charge and was released on June 19, 2005, according to county records.

Times researcher Angie Holan contributed to this report. Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or lorri@sptimes.com.

[Last modified August 2, 2006, 22:33:04]