Two Bradenton Police officers were hospitalized early Sunday, one with serious injuries, after a suspect struck them with a vehicle just after 3:20 a.m. while they were responding to a report of a man with a gun harassing customers at a Wawa. The suspect then tried to flee, touching off a chase that stretched toward the Sunshine Skyway Bridge before ending in a crash back in Bradenton.
According to a statement from the Bradenton Police Department
, officers were initially called to the Wawa at 1st Street and 6th Avenue East after reports that a man armed with a gun was harassing customers there. When officers arrived and confronted the suspect, he struck two of them with his vehicle before attempting to flee the scene by car, the department said.
The two injured officers were taken to the hospital, with one suffering serious injuries, the department said in its post. As the suspect fled, two additional officers fired at his vehicle, though the department's account does not detail what happened immediately after the shots were fired or whether the vehicle was struck.
Chase Stretched From Bradenton Toward the Skyway and Back
The pursuit that followed involved multiple agencies. Bradenton police chased the suspect alongside the Manatee County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol as he fled toward the Sunshine Skyway Bridge before turning back toward Bradenton, per the department's statement. The suspect ultimately crashed at 1st Street and 10th Avenue West.
He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries following the crash, the department said. Police described the investigation as active and said additional information would be released when appropriate, though the department's statement does not identify the suspect or indicate whether he faces charges.
Not the First Dramatic Chase Over the Skyway
The stretch of road linking Bradenton to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge has been the backdrop for other high-speed pursuits over the years. In 2020, Manatee County sheriff's deputies stopped a man from jumping off the bridge after a chase that reached speeds up to 90 mph, according to bradenton.com. In a separate incident, Florida Highway Patrol troopers pursued a driver at 111 mph over the Skyway and into Manatee County before a trooper used a PIT maneuver near mile marker 19 and the driver fled on foot, the outlet reported in a different report.
Officers being struck by vehicles has also happened under very different circumstances locally. In 2022, a 57-year-old woman drove around traffic cones and struck a Bradenton Police officer who was directing traffic at Manatee Avenue West and 43rd Street West, according to mysuncoast.com. That driver was charged with careless driving and failure to move over, the station reported.
No further details have been released about Sunday's incident, including the suspect's identity or the condition of the officers beyond the initial hospitalization reports. Bradenton Police said the investigation remains active and that updates will follow as they become available.
