High speed car chase kills 5 after crashing outside LGBTQ+ nightclub - LGBTQ Nation

"Court documents and video footage indicate that 22-year-old Silas Sampson drove his Toyota Camry into the crowded sidewalk seating area of Bradley's on 7th, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in the busy "GaYbor" entertainment district of Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood, around 12:45am on Saturday morning, Tampa Bay Times reports. Three people died at the scene, while a fourth died after being taken to a local hospital. A fifth person remained in critical condition on Sunday, the Times reports."

"Police arrested Sampson, who allegedly exited his car and tried to flee the scene. He's been charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and aggravated fleeing to elude law enforcement. The crash reportedly followed a seven-minute chase that began when a Tampa police helicopter spotted two cars allegedly racing in the city's Seminole Heights neighborhood. The chopper continued to track one car, later identified as Sampson's Camry, as it turned south onto Interstate 275 headed into downtown Tampa."

"Two Florida Highway Patrol cars and one Tampa police vehicle pursued the Camry at high speed, with one Highway Patrol trooper, identified in court documents as A. Carrasco, attempting to stop Sampson using a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver. The controversial technique involves a police vehicle striking the rear side of a fleeing car. Sampson managed to maintain control of the car, however, and Carrasco "terminated the high-speed pursuit due to heavy pedestrian traffic further ahead," court documents state."

An apparent high-speed chase ended when a Toyota Camry struck the crowded outdoor seating at Bradley's on 7th in Tampa's GaYbor entertainment district, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen. Three victims died at the scene; a fourth died at a hospital and another remained in critical condition. Authorities arrested 22-year-old Silas Sampson, who allegedly exited the vehicle and tried to flee. Sampson faces four counts of vehicular homicide and aggravated fleeing to elude law enforcement. The incident followed a seven-minute pursuit tracked by a police helicopter; a trooper attempted a PIT maneuver before terminating the chase.

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