Clearwater Man, 23, Busted Doing 107 MPH on Bayside Bridge, Blames Work

A 23-year-old Clearwater man is facing criminal charges after Pinellas County deputies clocked him driving 107 mph across the Bayside Bridge, nearly double the posted 55 mph limit yesterday. Tevone Hall told authorities he was speeding because he was late for work, but investigators say he was also driving on a suspended license at the time.

According to Tampa Bay 28, a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office patrol-car radar recorded Hall driving southbound on the Bayside Bridge from Gulf to Bay Boulevard at 107 mph, per the arrest affidavit. Deputies say Hall was aware he was speeding and admitted he was rushing to get to work on time. He was arrested Wednesday and charged with dangerous excessive speeding over 100 mph.

Hall's driver's license had been suspended for failing to pay a traffic citation, according to PCSO officials, adding a second criminal charge to his case. Deputies say he was aware his license was suspended when he got behind the wheel.

A New Florida Law Changes the Stakes

Until recently, a driver caught going 107 mph might have walked away with a civil traffic ticket. That changed on July 1, 2025, when Florida Statute § 316.1922 took effect, creating the criminal offense of dangerous excessive speeding for anyone driving 50 mph or more over the posted limit, or 100 mph or more in a dangerous manner, according to Online Sunshine. Before the law changed, extreme speeding alone was generally treated as a civil infraction unless prosecutors could separately prove reckless intent.

A first conviction under the statute carries up to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both, along with a mandatory court appearance, per the Brancato Law Firm, P.A. The new law also removed the option to simply pay a fine online for violations of 50-plus mph over the limit, meaning drivers like Hall must appear before a judge. Hall's suspended license charge carries its own exposure: under Florida Statute § 322.34(2), driving with knowledge that a license is suspended is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

A Bridge With a History of Extreme Speeds

The Bayside Bridge, a 2.7-mile twin-span structure connecting Clearwater and Largo across Old Tampa Bay, opened in June 1993 to relieve heavy traffic on U.S. 19. The six-lane span now carries more than 68,000 vehicles a day between the two cities, with a posted limit of 55 mph, according to Wikipedia's entry on the bridge.

Wednesday's arrest is not the first time the bridge has drawn extreme speeders. In February 2020, deputies pulled over a driver going in excess of 120 mph across the same span while weaving through mid-morning traffic, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time. The open, multi-lane layout has long made the bridge a magnet for high-speed driving, and the sheriff's office ran saturation patrols across Pinellas County's high-incident corridors this past July under Operation Southern Slow Down, targeting excessive speeding and aggressive driving.

Not the First Tampa Bay Bridge Bust This Year

Hall's arrest echoes a similar case earlier this year. In February, Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested a 32-year-old driver on the nearby Howard Frankland Bridge after clocking him at 101 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to previous Hoodline reporting. Troopers in that case used a PIT maneuver to stop the fleeing vehicle in St. Petersburg.

Hall's excuse also isn't a new one for Pinellas deputies. In April 2025, the sheriff's office publicized a radar reading of 102 mph on U.S. 19 where the driver similarly claimed to be late for work, resulting in a mandatory court summons. The agency has repeatedly emphasized that being late for work does not justify driving at speeds that put other motorists at risk.

The stakes behind that message are stark. Pinellas County recorded 24,740 total motor vehicle crashes and 117 traffic fatalities in 2024, according to Hoodline's earlier coverage of local crash data, making roadway safety a persistent public safety priority across the county. It remains unclear whether Hall has retained an attorney or entered a plea in the case.