A late-night drive through northwest Tampa took a hard turn early Monday when a Dunedin woman was arrested after allegedly heading the wrong way on a busy road, hopping a curb, and then handing deputies a credit card instead of her license.
Dashcam footage released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office appears to show the vehicle traveling the wrong way on Sheldon Road near West Linebaugh Avenue at about 12:30 a.m., crossing lanes and bouncing over a curb before finally coming to a stop, as reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay. In the clip, deputies quickly surround the car, order the driver out, and place her in handcuffs. The Sheriff’s Office later wrote on social media that “a wrong-way driver was quickly stopped by #teamhcso deputies before anyone was hurt.”
Deputies identified the driver as 52-year-old Kami Ellis of Dunedin. When an officer asked whether she was okay, Ellis replied, “Yeah. I’m good.” Things got stranger when deputies requested her driver’s license and she instead produced a credit card, followed by a Barnes & Noble gift card, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
Charges and what follows
Ellis was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence, and the Sheriff’s Office shared her booking photo along with the dashcam clip. In Florida, DUI cases fall under Florida Statute 316.193, which outlines both criminal penalties and separate administrative actions for drivers. Depending on the circumstances and any prior history, a conviction can bring fines, community service, probation, license suspension, and potential jail time.
Why wrong-way driving is so dangerous
Wrong-way crashes do not happen every day, but when they do, they are often brutal. Safety researchers note that these incidents are more likely to produce head-on collisions, which in turn are more likely to be deadly. The AAA Foundation has studied wrong-way crashes and warned about their severity, and Florida transportation officials have promoted wrong-way alert systems and other countermeasures aimed at cutting down on those high-risk encounters, according to state traffic documents. For additional background on the risks and responses, see research from AAA and state traffic guidance from the FDOT.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, its social media post and the dashcam video provide the main on-scene details in this case. Prosecutors will determine whether to move forward with formal charges. The agency did not release any breath or blood test results in its public post and did not provide a timeline for when more information might be made available.
