LAND O' LAKES, Fla. -- Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco released body cam footage of a deadly crash Saturday involving a kidnapping suspect.
Deputies pursued suspect Michael Blombery, 54, around 10 p.m. after receiving calls about a man choke-holding a woman at a Circle K gas station near the entrance to the Ballantrae subdivision on State Road 54.
ORIGINAL STORY: Kidnapping suspect dies in head-on collision while fleeing Pasco deputies
The store clerk called 911 after deputies say the woman mouthed to him "help me." Deputies later discovered that the man and woman had been involved in a long-term relationship of about 10 years.
Nocco said Blombery drove off as soon as deputies drove into the parking lot of the Circle K and deputies started to pursue the truck.
"This incident shows the unfortunate cycle of domestic violence," Nocco said during a press conference Monday afternoon. "Deputies thought the woman was still in the vehicle at the time."
Nocco also extended his thoughts to the man who was hospitalized after being hit head-on during the pursuit by Blombery's vehicle. Kirby Sober, 24, was traveling eastbound and was hit just west of Odessa Gardens Lane.
The two cars caught fire.
"I don't think a lot of people in dangerous situations intend to be there," Nocco said. "But everything was because of that suspect. If we don't pursue that vehicle and the woman is killed, we have to hold another press conference, answering the question, 'Why was this woman killed?'"
The footage shows deputies pursuing the suspect vehicle before the fiery head-on crash and shows the moment deputies pulled Blombery outside. The video shows deputies back up from the vehicle as well because of safety concerns, Nocco says.
When fire rescue responded to the scene, it exploded.
The body cam footage also shows deputies performing CPR on Blombery for at least 10 minutes as well as giving him a breathing apparatus in attempts to resuscitate him.
"This is one of those things that just shows the hard work of our deputies, your Pasco deputies out there, what they do every day, what they go through and the heroism," Nocco said. "They knew that was a suspect vehicle, the driver was probably the suspect, but still they're going to do everything they can to save his life."
Nocco said victim advocates are working with the woman as well to get her the help that she needs.
Concerns with the release of the footage on national television through the show "Live PD" were also voiced during the press conference, which Nocco resoundingly responded with, "It's what they do."
"A lot of citizens don't recognize what we do, because Hollywood has changed perceptions. In Hollywood, if something doesn't look good, they got a second take, they have a third take, they can do 30 takes," Nocco said. "But that's the way Hollywood is, that's not the real world. The real world, we get one chance.
"And if our citizens get to see what we do in that one chance, to see that we're trying to do our best, that's good. That humanizes us, that we're human beings."
Domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse were also talking points for Nocco. He said domestic violence continues to be an issue for deputies and that mental health and substance abuse are a part of the health care system that society should continue to look at and address.
"Unfortunately when bad things happen, we say, 'Oh, we need to do something about it', but we don't," Nocco said.
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