A Florida Highway Patrol trooper clocked a white Toyota Camry racing down Interstate 4 at 108 mph near mile marker 12 at 3:15 a.m. Saturday, then ended the pursuit with a PIT maneuver that sent the car spinning to a stop on the median of County Road 579. The driver, identified as Cassia Celeste Payoute, was arrested and taken to the Hillsborough County Jail.
Radar Clocked Car at 108 MPH Before Near-Miss
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, radar confirmed the car was traveling at 108 mph as the trooper moved to catch up with it on I-4. During the chase, the vehicle cut across the outside lane and nearly collided with another car on the highway, the outlet reported, citing a Florida Highway Patrol incident report.
Rather than let the pursuit continue at that speed, the trooper used a PIT maneuver — a tactic that forces a fleeing vehicle to spin out and stop. The report notes the car spun to a stop on the median of County Road 579, bringing the chase to an end without further incident described in the available report.
Driver Arrested, Charges Not Yet Released
Payoute was taken into custody following the stop and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, the station's report states. Officials had not yet released the specific criminal charges Payoute faces following the pursuit.
Early-morning, high-speed pursuits have cropped up repeatedly on Hillsborough County's stretch of I-4 and its interchanges. In a separate case, Tampa Bay 28 reported that a trooper used a PIT maneuver and a containment block to stop a fleeing 2019 Mercedes AMG GLE43. Deputies had pursued the vehicle near the SR-589 and I-275 interchange; the trooper intercepted it on I-275 near Bird Street and attempted a stop near Waters Avenue. The same outlet also detailed a driver accused of hitting 136 mph and later topping 140 mph before stopping near mile marker 263, after passing an SUV on the shoulder and nearly colliding with a tanker truck. Separately, WFLA reported that a driver near Plant City reached around 148 mph in a 70 mph zone before a trooper pulled him over.
