A Florida Highway Patrol dashcam captured an 18-year-old woman cutting through traffic on I-75, then blasting off the interstate at Sun City Center Boulevard and heading into the wrong lanes of traffic, forcing other drivers to swerve while a trooper tried to shut the whole thing down. The video, recorded on the evening of June 19, ends as the car turns into a hospital driveway, where troopers move in to box the vehicle and take the driver into custody. According to law-enforcement affidavits, the episode resulted in one arrest at the scene.
According to Tampa Bay 28, a trooper with lights and sirens already activated spotted a Kia sedan weaving on I-75 northbound near mile marker 241 at about 6:30 p.m. The driver took the exit to Sun City Center Boulevard and kept up the erratic moves while the trooper tried a PIT maneuver that did not stop the car. Dashcam video shows the Kia cross the grassy median, drive the wrong way, then pull into the hospital driveway, where authorities arrested the driver, identified in the FHP affidavit as 18-year-old Emorie Hamilton.
Trooper tactics and local scrutiny
Troopers used a PIT maneuver, a contact tactic meant to spin out a fleeing vehicle and bring a pursuit to an end, but the FHP report notes that the attempt failed in this case. FHP pursuit tactics have been under a microscope locally since a fatal Ybor City chase last November, when a state trooper pursuit ended in multiple deaths and pushed agencies to revisit how they communicate and when they chase. FOX 13 has outlined the local policy changes and reviews, while national reporting from The San Francisco Chronicle has detailed how PITs can be deadly and how training and rules differ from agency to agency.
Legal note
Hamilton was arrested on suspicion of felony fleeing to elude and driving with a suspended license, according to the affidavit cited by Tampa Bay 28. The report does not list a court date or additional filings. Any formal charges and next steps will appear in prosecutor statements and court records.
The dashcam clip is a tight, unsettling reminder of how quickly a roadside encounter can turn into a full-blown pursuit, and why pursuit policies and tactics are watched so closely around Tampa Bay. We will keep an eye on public records and any statements from local agencies for developments in the case.
