FHP: St. Pete man charged after fleeing deputies and troopers through strawberry field and roads

In Hillsborough County, a man faces multiple charges after a pursuit through fields and streets, ending with his arrest when his vehicle got stuck.

DOVER, Fla. — A man in Hillsborough County is facing multiple charges after deputies and troopers pursued him until getting stuck in a median, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Troopers with the FHP said that around 11:20 p.m. Friday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office contacted them to request assistance “in reference to a stolen vehicle that had fled their deputies,” FHP said in a statement. The car was tracked with the HCSO aviation unit and allegedly drove to a strawberry field in the Dover area.

When a trooper tried to make contact with the driver, even deploying a taser, the driver, identified as Shawn Creager, 51, from St. Petersburg, fled in the jeep from authorities, FHP said, adding that Creager intentionally drove through at least one fence.

“Upon review of my in-car dash camera video, captured on video was the driver backing his vehicle during the initial encounter at Blankenship Road, where he resisted getting out of the vehicle, and knocked me to the ground,” a trooper stated in one of the arrest affidavits reviewed by 10 Tampa Bay News.

As the aviation unit continued to track Creager, troopers say they intercepted the car he was driving on Northwood Park Street, just south of Durant Road. While chasing, Creager continued fleeing west on Durant and two troopers began pursuing him.

As the jeep being driven by Creager “overshot the right curve on Durant Road approaching Lumsden Road E,” he ran over the median one time. Then, when attempting to cross the median again, Creager’s car got stuck and a trooper used his patrol car to block Creager continue moving forward, troopers said. At that point, the pursuit concluded and more troopers arrived to put Creager under arrest, FHP said.

According to criminal report affidavits and a statement from the FHP, Shawn Creager is facing charges for resisting an officer with violence, criminal mischief, driving under the influence, refusal to submit to testing, fleeing to elude at a high speed, driving without a valid driver’s license and trespass. In addition, one trooper is requesting that Creager be charged with battery on a law enforcement officer.

Creager is currently being held with a $36,300 bond at the Falkenburg Road Jail, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.