TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol has filed six additional charges against Silas Sampson, the man accused of ramming his vehicle into a Ybor City crowd, killing four people over the weekend. 

Sampson, 22, made his first appearance in court Wednesday afternoon for the new second-degree charges, three counts of fleeing to elude and three counts of reckless driving. There was confusion in the courtroom over the charges and new documents during Sampson’s first appearance on Wednesday. 

Sampson was already facing multiple charges after the deadly crash, including four counts of vehicular homicide and four counts of aggravated fleeing to elude causing bodily injury or death (a first-degree felony). His hearing will remain as scheduled for Thursday at 9:30 a.m., when the court will decide if he will get bond. 

According to Hillsborough County records, Sampson received a citation from FHP in September for driving 99 mph in a 70 mph zone.

The backstory:

Sampson is accused of crashing his vehicle into a massive crowd outside Bradley’s on 7th, located in the 1500 block of East 7th Avenue in Ybor City. More than a dozen people were hit outside the business, officials said. 

The crash was the aftermath of a police pursuit. Authorities said Tampa police officers spotted two vehicles racing near Hanna Avenue and Nebraska Avenue at around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. They proceeded westbound on Hillsborough Avenue when one of the vehicles drove onto southbound I-275. 

TPD’s air unit tracked it as it then exited downtown. FHP troopers joined in and tracked the vehicle to Nebraska Avenue and Palm Avenue, where they attempted a PIT maneuver. 

Despite that, TPD said the vehicle proceeded down Ybor City’s busy 7th Avenue when the vehicle lost control and plowed into the crowd outside Bradley’s on 7th. 

Silas Sampson during first court appearance in Hillsborough County. 

Police identified the four victims as Christina Richards, 25; Lisa Johnson, 41; Sherman Jones, 53; and Marlon Collins, 53.

MORE: Ybor City crash: 4 victims killed identified by Tampa police

The crash rattled the community, and a vigil for the victims on Saturday night drew so many people that police had to shut down the area to traffic.

Sampson appeared virtually in court Sunday morning where the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office filed a motion to keep the Ybor City crash suspect in custody, citing that he poses a danger to the community.

The Source: Information for this story was gathered from the Florida Highway Patrol and the Tampa Police Department.

TampaCrime and Public SafetyYbor City