TAMPA -- A 19-year-old St. Petersburg man was in critical condition Friday after a hit and run driver struck him as he was placing traffic cones on I-275, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

At 3:15 a.m., Justin Thomas Willis had parked his tow truck on I-275 to help with a traffic crash. A pickup truck struck Willis as he was placing the cones on the road. Willis of 415 24th St. N was taken to Tampa General Hospital.

The FHP is looking for the pickup driver. Anyone with information was asked to call the FHP toll-free at 1-888-632-6859, and ask for Trooper J. Prescott at ext. 262 or Cpl. T. McMullian at ext. 343.

Woman is saved from fire but home is not

TAMPA -- The son of a 66-year-old disabled woman rescued her from a burning house Friday, but was unable to prevent $70,000 in damage to the home near Lowry Park, Tampa fire officials said.

No one was injured in the fire that began about 9 a.m. at 1310 Carissa Court. Investigators said the fire began in a second-story bedroom after Dale Gray-Lewis left a cigarette smoldering on a couch while he slept. His brother, Ricky, awoke to the smell of fire and carried his mother, Eleanore Johnson, from a downstairs bedroom to safety outside.

Fire crews had the fire under control in about 15 minutes.

The upstairs room where the fire started was destroyed.

Domestic battery suspect flees, is sought

TAMPA -- Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies are searching for a man who escaped shortly after he was arrested on a domestic battery charge Firday.

At 9:45 a.m. Friday, a deputy arrested David Huber at his home at 221 Cherry Lane. Authorities said Huber was handcuffed and placed in a locked patrol car. The deputy then went inside to talk to Huber's alleged victim. When the deputy returned, Huber was gone.

Huber, 23, is a white male, 6 feet tall, 165 pounds, and was wearing blue jeans and a white T-Shirt with the words "Abercrombie and Fitch."

Anyone with information about Huber's whereabouts should call the Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS.

Carjacking, chase over bridge end in wreck

ST. PETERSBURG -- After a carjacking in Tampa, a group of men in a stolen sport utility vehicle led police on a 100-mph chase Friday night across the Howard Frankland Bridge and into St. Petersburg on Interstate 275.

After police broke off the chase, the SUV crashed about 10:30 p.m. at the interstate's exit to 28th Street S in St. Petersburg. Police took two men into custody and were searching for a third man who had run from the scene, officials said.

The incident began with a carjacking at 39th and Yukon streets near Busch Gardens, Tampa police said. About 10:20 p.m., Pinellas County authorities were alerted that armed carjacking suspects in a white Ford Expedition were headed west on the Howard Frankland at 100 mph with Tampa police cars following.

The SUV then sped south on I-275. A St. Petersburg police officer followed the SUV and reported its location to police dispatchers as it passed several exits.

About the time the SUV passed Tropicana Field, a St. Petersburg police supervisor radioed the officer to stop the pursuit. Shortly afterward, police officers found the SUV crashed at the 28th Street S exit.

Paramedics were called to the scene, but the two men who were captured did not require medical treatment. Their identities were not available late Friday.

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