TAMPA, Florida — Two Florida Highway Patrol vehicles were involved in a crash on Interstate 75 near Fletcher Avenue in Hillsborough County Wednesday afternoon after a pursuit, authorities say.
Both vehicles were K-9 units with one being in a Chevy Tahoe and the other in a Ford Explorer, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release.
Troopers and the dogs involved in the crash all suffered non-life-threatening injuries, FHP says.
At 3:17 p.m., troopers say they tried to pull over Wilfredo Diaz, 35, of Ruskin in his BMV SUV for following too closely on Interstate 4 near Thonotosassa Road.
Instead, Diaz drove away from law enforcement and went westbound on the interstate then headed northbound on I-75, troopers say.
"He was just flying down the inside shoulder of the highway. I see this white BMW, just flying and heading westbound and I thought, 'Oh, that doesn't look like that should be happening.' Then I saw six FHP cars behind it with their lights on," Brandon Pacifica said.
Pacifica headed home like many others when the pursuit started.
When Diaz reached south of Fletcher Avenue, he reportedly slowed down suddenly so he could drive onto the grass median and try to do a U-turn to get away from authorities.
That's when troopers also drove onto the grass median, but the Chevy Tahoe was not able to slow down enough on the grass and crashed with the rear of the Ford Explorer, FHP says.
The Chevy Tahoe ended up on the side of the road with front-end damage to the vehicle, while the Ford Explorer was flipped in the median, officials say.
"All of a sudden, I see some dust and I just, it didn't click fast enough. Between the guardrail and me was a car flying by and the trooper was behind almost touching them," James Anderson said.
Anderson was almost hit by Diaz and says what happened could've been more serious. He immediately pulled out his phone and started recording. People stuck in traffic raced to help. One of the K-9s was seen on the side of the highway while Diaz was arrested in the median.
The troopers were taken to a nearby hospital, whereas the K-9s were transported to an area veterinarian where they were treated and released.
The incident impacted both the north and southbound lanes and initially led to the closure of at least three northbound lanes. All lanes were reopened at 6:11 p.m.
Diaz was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail and charged with fleeing and eluding, driving while license suspended as a habitual offender and possession of one kilo of cocaine that was found in his SUV.
"It definitely could have been worse. It's a shame, really. Running for something like that? I mean, it's simple stuff. It's small stuff. I mean, why would you endanger people's lives? Why put lives at risk," Pacifica said.