A 19-year-old Plant City driver, identified by troopers as Kimberly Gutierrez, was arrested earlier yesteday after Florida Highway Patrol says she led them on a white-knuckle, high-speed chase that topped 120 mph across the Howard Frankland Bridge and ended in a fiery wreck on northbound I-275. Troopers report using a PIT maneuver at mile marker 42 to stop the black Audi, then pulling multiple occupants out of the burning car before Gutierrez was taken for medical clearance. At the jail, breath tests registered blood-alcohol readings of .111 and .102, and investigators say Gutierrez admitted to drinking five margaritas in Ybor City and three Twisted Teas in Clearwater earlier in the night.
Fiery I-275 pursuit
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a trooper first spotted the Audi weaving across lanes while heading north over the Howard Frankland Bridge around 2:56 a.m., with speeds reportedly exceeding 120 mph before a PIT maneuver at mile marker 42 finally ended the chase. After the crash, the car caught fire and troopers pulled multiple passengers from the vehicle before firefighters and paramedics arrived. Those details come from an arrest report released to the media, as reported by FOX 13.
Charges and possible penalties
Gutierrez faces a charge of driving under the influence involving property damage or personal injury, an offense that carries tougher consequences when a crash injures someone or damages property. Under Florida law, a DUI that results in property damage or non-serious personal injury is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and fines, while cases involving serious bodily injury or death can bring felony charges and longer license revocations. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles lays out those statutory categories and penalties; see Florida DHSMV for details.
Howard Frankland has seen stepped-up enforcement
The Howard Frankland Bridge and the I-275 stretch around it have been getting extra attention from troopers lately, thanks to a run of high-speed antics that have turned the span into an unwanted late-night thrill ride. Earlier this month, local coverage highlighted another pre-dawn incident where a driver was clocked at about 106 mph before being taken into custody, underscoring why troopers are working the bridge so aggressively. For more on that earlier case, see the report on the Tesla tearaway clocked at 106 mph.
What investigators say - and what comes next
Officials have not released the names or conditions of the other passengers pulled from the Audi, and prosecutors had not yet announced any charges beyond the DUI in early reports. Troopers told reporters that their account is based on the arrest report and what they saw at the scene. They say breath tests at the jail came back at .111 and .102, and that Gutierrez described to them the drinks she had consumed earlier in Ybor City and Clearwater. Those details were provided to local media via the Florida Highway Patrol arrest report, as reported by FOX 13.
