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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 29, 2001
Hit-and-run critically injures tow truck driver
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.
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.
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.
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.