Drive home starts chase

SPRING HILL -- Two couples spent Saturday night dancing in Ybor City before piling into a 1993 Buick and heading home to Spring Hill.

One couple slept in the back and another talked in the front as they drove north on Shady Hills Road.

The driver of the Buick, 20-year-old Brian Coleman, told authorities that at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, he started to pass a red Rodeo, but the sport utility vehicle accelerated and would not let him back into the right lane.

Coleman said that action began a 25-minute chase in which mailboxes were run over, obscenities were shouted and at least four people feared for their lives.

The incident ended with authorities arresting the driver of the Rodeo, 21-year-old Justin Whitehead, and charging him with aggravated assault. Authorities said his address is 14737 Boland Ave.

Coleman said that when he tried to pass the Rodeo, Whitehead flashed his lights on and off. He said that when he made it back into the right lane, Whitehead tailgated him, pulled into the oncoming traffic lane and yelled obscenities at him and his three passengers. Coleman said that when the two vehicles stopped at a traffic light on County Line Road, Whitehead got out of his vehicle, pounded on Coleman's passenger window, walked around and threw a soda bottle at him.

"He was irate," Coleman told the Times Monday. "It seemed like he thought we had done the worst thing possible to him. He was out of his mind, going crazy."

Authorities said the vehicles turned left onto County Line Road. Coleman said he drove into Rainbow Hills Estates and turned around in a driveway. He said the Rodeo sped down the street and tried to hit him head-on. Coleman told authorities he swerved into several mailboxes trying to avoid the Rodeo.

Coleman told authorities he turned back onto County Line Road traveling west and said the Rodeo tried to hit him head-on again. Coleman told authorities he swerved and missed the SUV. He called 911.

In the back seat, one of his passengers, Jennifer Seltzer, 21, was screaming.

"I don't handle stressful situations well," Seltzer said Monday. "I was wondering what this man was capable of. He did this for no reason. I was panicked. My whole body was shaking, and I was crying and screaming. I thought for sure someone was going to end up seriously injured."

Coleman drove his car to a convenience store on Spring Hill Drive and met deputies. He had given them the Rodeo's license plate number. A deputy pulled over Whitehead and arrested him. He has been released from jail on $5,000 bail. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

The Sheriff's Office said Whitehead told deputies a similar story, but denied trying to hit the Buick. He said the only reason he was following the car was that Coleman kept slamming on his brakes.

Deputies said they observed scratches on Coleman's car, and his passenger side mirror was damaged.

Earlier this year, two teenagers were charged with vehicular homicide and manslaughter by culpable negligence after a fender-bender led to a chase on Cortez Boulevard. As one driver tried to pass the other, he crested a hill and collided head-on with a 38-year-old woman, who died.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright