Plant City teen charged with DUI after a 120 mph chase was ended by a PIT maneuver, FHP says

A 19-year-old faces DUI charges after a high-speed chase on I-275 ended in a fiery crash following a PIT maneuver, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

TAMPA, Fla. — A Sunday chase on I-275 came to a fiery end when a trooper performed a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver against a car that reached up to 120 miles per hour during the pursuit. Troopers had to pull out the passengers of the car before arresting the driver on DUI charges.

The Florida Highway Patrol said that around 3 a.m., Kimberly Gutierrez, 19, was traveling north in a Black Audi along the Howard Frankland Bridge into Hillsborough County when a trooper saw her and began the pursuit. According to the criminal report affidavit, reviewed by 10 Tampa Bay News, Gutierrez’s car reached high speeds and was weaving “all over the road.”

This story continues below.

FHP states in the report that after the PIT maneuver was performed on I-275, the car crashed and troopers “extracted multiple occupants from the vehicle as it became completely engulfed in flames.” At this time, Gutierrez was placed in the back of a trooper’s car.

In the report, troopers claim they thought Gutierrez was possibly under the influence, citing that she smelled of alcohol, had red, bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech.

Troopers took Gutierrez to BayCare St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, where, according to the FHP report, “she admitted to having 5 margaritas in Ybor City before going to Clearwater and having 3 Twisted Teas while out with friends.” Troopers said she was “constantly out of it even before being administered pain relief medication.”

A trooper then performed exercises to determine if she was intoxicated, and after she “performed poorly on all exercises,” she was placed under arrest at 5:18 a.m. for DUI, the report states.

Gutierrez was then discharged from the hospital at 6:23 a.m. and was taken to jail, where she had troopers perform a voluntary breath test. “Samples resulted in a BAC of 0.111 and 0.102,” the report stated. 

According to the Florida Statutes, having BAC, or blood-alcohol content levels, of more than 0.08 is “evidence that the person was under the influence of alcoholic beverages to the extent that his or her normal faculties were impaired.”