TAMPA, Fla. — A speeding driver evading a midnight highway patrol pursuit tore through Seventh Avenue in Ybor City early Saturday before plowing across a crowded sidewalk and slamming into a nightclub entryway, killing four people and injuring 13, according to Tampa police.

The startling and violent crash renewed criticism of the city and the Florida Highway Patrol, with some calling the chase unnecessary and urging the agency to change its policy. But agency officials dismissed such questions, saying the fleeing driver was solely responsible.

Hundreds of late-night club patrons packed Ybor’s streets in front of Bradley’s on 7th, a popular LGBTQ+ nightclub just east of 15th Street on Seventh Avenue, when, according to police, Silas Kenneth Sampson crashed.

Three people died immediately at the scene. A fourth died later at a hospital. Two remained in critical condition Saturday afternoon, police said, while others were treated for less severe injuries.

“They were out in Ybor, having a good time, expecting to go home safely,” Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw told reporters early Saturday. “And a careless, reckless driver takes everybody’s lives in his hands.”

Sampson was arrested early Saturday on charges that included aggravated fleeing to elude police and vehicular homicide.

Bercaw said the pursuit began about 12:30 a.m. when a Tampa police helicopter spotted two cars racing near Hanna and North Nebraska avenues in Seminole Heights. The cars sped west before one turned south onto Interstate 275, while the other headed elsewhere, Bercaw said.

The police helicopter tracked the car as it headed into downtown Tampa, the chief said.

A news release stated the car left the interstate at Doyle Carlton Drive, a main exit into downtown and the Riverwalk area, which is under construction.

The Florida Highway Patrol spotted the car minutes later near North Nebraska and Palm avenues, just outside Ybor City, Bercaw said.

When two Highway Patrol troopers tried to stop the car, the chief said, the driver sped away.

Troopers tried to end the pursuit using what’s known as a precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, police said. It is a common police method that involves having a patrol car strike the rear end of a fleeing vehicle to stop it from proceeding further along the road.

Video released Saturday by Tampa police shows overhead footage as a highway patrol car follows closely behind the Toyota as both vehicles move quickly along Seventh Avenue. The patrol car bumps the back of the Toyota, which swerves, but keeps going as it appears the patrol car slows down.

Sgt. Steve Gaskins, a spokesperson for the Highway Patrol in Tampa, said the maneuver was unsuccessful. Troopers then backed off, Gaskins said, as the car headed east into Ybor City.

“After that, unfortunately, this vehicle went at a high rate of speed down Seventh Avenue,” Bercaw said. “And tragically, just east of 15th Street, (it) hit over a dozen people.”

The dead and injured were all adults, the chief said. Police did not release their names.

Parker Sanchez, 28, who said he frequents Bradley’s, surveyed the scene Saturday morning, struggling to process a tragedy that unfolded in a typically joyful place. He questioned the need for troopers to give chase.

“(The Highway Patrol) escalated the situation,” he said.”

Tampa police said their patrol officers did not chase the car. Their pursuit policy, which is reviewed and updated yearly, allows pursuits only in situations where officers believe a person in the car has committed a forcible felony or a burglary.

The highway patrol’s policy gives individual troopers broad discretion about whether to pursue fleeing vehicles.

In response to questions about whether the highway patrol would consider changing its policy after Saturday’s fatal crash, a spokesperson for the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said the crash was the driver’s fault.

“The driver was already operating recklessly and endangering lives before troopers engaged,” said Madison Kessler, communications director for the department. “Our troopers followed policy, disengaged prior to when the suspect entered a crowded area, and the driver lost control on his own. This tragedy rests solely on the suspect’s reckless actions, not law enforcement.”

Policing experts say pursuits, while sometimes necessary, are inherently dangerous and should not be routine.

A 2015 USA Today analysis showed more than 5,000 bystanders and passengers had been killed in police car chases between 1979 and 2013. That was nearly half of all people killed in police pursuits in that time frame. Most bystanders were killed in their own cars by a fleeing driver, the analysis showed. Tens of thousands more were injured.

A 2023 publication produced by the U.S. Department of Justice included a recommendation that law enforcement agencies should adopt policies allowing pursuits only for specific and limited circumstances.

The report suggested pursuits should be reserved for when the failure to immediately apprehend the fleeing driver “presents an imminent threat to the public based on the suspect’s criminal actions.”

Tom Gleason, a retired police captain and longtime Florida law enforcement instructor specializing in pursuits, said there is an abundance of statistical and scientific data showing chases increase risk to police and the public.

“The problem when you loosen policies is the risk to troopers, officers, deputies and the public goes up,” Gleason said. “That’s what you just saw. We turn racing into a death investigation.”

Gleason said agencies also need to take care in the way they use techniques like the PIT maneuver, which is meant to be used only at low speeds. He questioned why the pursuit occurred, given that a police helicopter had tracked the driver.

Gleason said the crash should prompt a reexamination of the highway patrol’s pursuit policy.

“We need to do a deep dive into what we’re doing when our mission collides with public safety,” he said.

Some on social media also suggested the city should again restrict car access on Seventh Avenue — a road bustling with weekend bar-goers.

Two decades ago, the city blocked the street to traffic on weekends to reduce congestion.

Mayor Jane Castor, in a statement, wrote that “our entire city feels this loss” and that officials are working to get answers. She could not immediately be reached for additional comment.

Grant Mehlich, former chairperson of the Ybor City Development Corp., expressed frustration with city officials. Cars speeding through Ybor streets have become a common occurrence and ordinances are not enforced, he said.

The crash could have been prevented, he said, with a greater police presence.

“We begged the city,” he said. “I personally wrote letters saying, please, we have got to get more (Tampa police) down here ... Include us, or let us go. No more political football.”

Sampson was arrested by Dade City police in June 2024. Officers stopped him in traffic and searched his car, finding a silver and black Taurus handgun with a defaced serial number, according to court records. He pleaded no contest and received a year of probation after reportedly admitting to police he owned the gun.

Sampson, who has a twin sister, was listed as a tight end and defensive tackle on the roster of the Pasco High School football team in 2019 and 2020.

He has a tattoo of a flower and the first name of his mom, Trudy, on his right arm, that arrest report states.

In September, the Florida Highway Patrol cited him for driving 99 mph on Interstate 75, where the speed limit is 70. He was driving the same car, a silver Toyota sedan, that was involved in Saturday’s fatal crash, a citation shows.

One of his family members, who identified herself only as Barbara, spoke to a Tampa Bay Times reporter Saturday by phone. She expressed concern that the family had not received a call from Sampson and said the family will make a statement in the next few days.

“Our family is praying for everyone concerned,” she said.

His older sister, Latiya Mitchell, said the details in news reports about the crash were “very out of character” for her brother. She expressed sorrow for the families of those killed.

“This definitely wasn’t on purpose,” she said.

Photos from the scene showed the car, damaged and lodged in the club’s entryway. Videos on social media showed hundreds of late-night club patrons running east along Seventh Avenue after the car plowed into the building.

The highway patrol is leading the traffic homicide investigation.

Local LGBTQ+ organizations mourned those killed in statements issued Saturday morning.

A statement from St. Pete Pride called Bradley’s a spot where many “have shared laughter, love and unforgettable memories.” The Big Gay Radio Show, whose co-host Esmé Russell was at Bradley’s and saw the collision, wrote in a statement that the disaster “struck at the heart of Tampa’s LGBTQ+ community.”

Outside Bradley’s, tables and chairs remained strewn, a broken fan dangled from the ceiling and shattered glass lay streaked with blood.

Howard Hopkins, 55, waited Saturday morning to retrieve his car from the taped-off area.

Last night, Hopkins said he went to get pizza from New York, New York, next to Bradley’s, when he saw a car jump the curb.

“It was awful,” he said. “Tables were flying, chairs were flying, people were flying.”

He said he saw someone try in vain to resuscitate one of the injured.

“I’m praying for the victims’ families,” he said. “They just came out for a fun night, they didn’t expect it to end like this.”

———

(Times staff writers Christopher O’Donnell, Divya Kumar, Tony Marrero, Nina Moske and Anthony Nicotera contributed to this report.)

———

©2025 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.