PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – A man is dead and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper is among two others hospitalized after a pursuit along Interstate 75 became a shooting early Saturday in Pasco County, according to FHP.
The narrative began at 3:15 a.m. as a trooper on patrol pulled up on two pickup trucks stopped near the interstate’s northbound 279 mile marker (State Road 54). The trooper noticed that the men appeared to be attempting to steal one of the trucks or items inside of it, a news release states.
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Both men took off northbound in one of the trucks with the trooper in pursuit, the suspects discharging a firearm several times while on the road and striking a tanker truck at one point, the release describes. After reaching State Road 50 in Hernando County, the men reversed course to travel southbound on I-75, at which point two more troopers joined the pursuit, FHP said.
The men got to Overpass Road, where they exited I-75 shortly before a trooper successfully used a PIT maneuver to make them crash and end the pursuit, according to the release. Both men then ran from the vehicle toward a wooded area south of Overpass Road, troopers said.
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Here, one of the men surrendered while the other produced a firearm and exchanged gunfire with troopers, according to FHP. A trooper was hit in the torso and airlifted to a hospital in stable condition while the man suffered fatal injuries, the report states. Charges are pending against the other man, who troopers said was hospitalized as well.
An FHP investigation is underway that also involves the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Hernando County Sheriff’s office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, troopers said.
Note: Due to the information provided, this map depicts where the truck left I-75 and not necessarily where it came to final rest.
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