By Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writer
Friday, November 26, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG — A Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy was involved in a shooting of a driver who appeared to try and hit him after a traffic stop Friday, according to a witness.
The incident began shortly after noon at Fourth Street and 86th Avenue N, where the deputy attempted to pull over the driver of a black Ford Explorer for a traffic stop, said sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha. It ended near the intersection of Fourth Street and 83th Avenue N., where the shooting occurred. Deputies were still investigating where the SUV went in between.
Mike Winkler, 22, said he saw the driver speed off speed down an alley parallel to Fourth Street moments before the shooting.
He saw the driver turn left in between a pizza shop and a bar and attempt to pull back onto Fourth street near 83rd Avenue, near a Mobil gas station. Winkler said the driver nearly hit the deputy, who was standing by his cruiser. "He was headed right at the cop," Winkler said.
The deputy fired three rounds into the Explorer, hitting the driver, a witness said.
Allison Fink, 12 and Courtney Fink, 14, were inside their home near the scene of the shooting when they heard a three gunshots.
The driver, who has not been identified, was transported to a hospital and is in stable condition. The deputy involved in the shooting was not immediately identified.
The black SUV he was driving, which now has two bullet holes in the front windshield, is still at the scene. A piece of cardboard covered up the license plate.
Authorities are at the scene conducting an investigation will share more information as it becomes available.