Trooper catches a ride from good Samaritan while chasing reckless driver
By: -----
Pinellas Park, FL - Law enforcement released video footage on Saturday of a good Samaritan helping a trooper catch a reckless driver in Pinellas Park.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol arrest affidavit, the trooper was on duty in an unmarked patrol vehicle on Oct. 20 when he spotted a black vehicle quickly traveling southbound on U.S. 19.
The trooper clocked the vehicle traveling at 92 mph and attempted to overtake it, but the suspect driver quickly continued while changing lanes among other traffic.
When the suspect tried to take the exit to State Road 690, the car collided with a concrete barrier wall before hitting a guardrail.
Dashcam video released by FHP showed the trooper then exit his patrol vehicle and point his handgun at the driver, but the suspect drove away in the damaged vehicle.
The driver drove a short distance before stopping, exiting the vehicle, jumping the guardrail barrier, and running down the embankment.
The trooper chased the driver on foot before a good Samaritan drove by and offered the trooper a ride on the driver’s side of his truck.
In bodycam video, the citizen is seen stopping his truck next to the trooper and repeatedly saying, “Hop on, hop on.”
The trooper then got into the truck, saying, “Go, go, go.”
As the truck approached the suspect, the trooper told him to stop before exiting the vehicle and detaining him.
The suspect, identified as Dalawn Damon Washington, 23, of St. Petersburg, was placed under arrest at 11:40 a.m.
Troopers said Washington did not have a Florida driver’s license and had an active arrest warrant out of Pinellas County for failure to appear in court.
After being placed in the back seat of a patrol car, arrest papers said Wainton banged his head against the plastic partition and cut his forehead, which began to bleed. EMS was already on the scene and assessed his injuries.
Washington was then taken to the Northside Hospital for medical evaluation and was transported to the Pinellas County Jail after his release.
He faces charges of fleeing to elude police, operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of a crash involving damage.