![\"Law](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/a-car-that-crashed-into-a-local-business-is-shown-on-saturda-YVWYTUATRBBNZHE6XT42TPFLTY.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA speeding car fleeing police slammed into a crowded bar early Saturday, killing four people and injuring 11 in a historic district of Tampa, Florida, known for its nightlife and tourists.<\/p>\n
An air patrol unit with the Tampa Police Department spotted the car driving recklessly on a freeway at about 12.40am (local time) after police said the silver sedan had been seen street racing in another neighbourhood, according to a police department statement.<\/p>\n
The Florida Highway Patrol caught up with the vehicle and tried to perform a manoeuvre that involves bumping a rear fender of a fleeing vehicle to cause it to spin out, known as a PIT or precision immobilisation technique, but it was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Highway patrol officers \u201cdisengaged\u201d as the vehicle sped toward the historic Ybor City district near downtown, Tampa police said. Ultimately the driver lost control of the car and hit more than a dozen people outside the bar, police said.<\/p>\n
Three victims died at the scene and a fourth victim died at a hospital. As of Saturday morning (local time), a fifth victim was hospitalised in critical condition, and eight additional victims were being treated at local hospitals but were listed as stable, police said. Two other victims experienced minor injuries and declined treatment at the scene. All 15 victims were adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened this morning was a senseless tragedy, our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims and all those who were impacted,\u201d Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Law enforcement investigates the car crash scene on Saturday, November 8 in Tampa, Florida. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Officers identified the suspect as 22-year-old Silas Sampson, who was booked Saturday and is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail.<\/p>\n
Court documents showed Sampson has been charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and four counts of aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death. All were first degree felonies. No attorney was listed for Sampson.<\/p>\n
“Our entire city feels this loss,\u201d said Mayor Jane Castor, who also served as Tampa’s first female police chief, in a post on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thoughts are with everyone affected. The investigation into this crash is ongoing, and we are working to get answers,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
In recent years, some states and local agencies have pushed to restrict the use of high-speed car chases to protect both civilians and officers. Following a rise in fatalities, a 2023 study funded by the US Department of Justice called for police chases to be rarely used, noting that the danger to suspects, officers and bystanders often outweighs the immediate need to take someone into custody.<\/p>\n
Still, Florida has doubled down on the tactics, with the state’s highway patrol amending its policies to loosen limitations on the use of car chases and PIT manoeuvres. The Justice Department-backed report described those tactics as \u201chigh-risk\u201d and \u201ccontroversial\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A speeding car fleeing police slammed into a crowded bar early Saturday, killing four people and injuring 11…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1081,67,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-125722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-accident","9":"tag-crime-and-justice","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}