Dunnellon woman arrested in stolen car on I-285 bridge, Tampa, after high-speed pursuit
Ms. Stevenson, in still photo taken from FHP trooper's dash-cam video.
Tampa, Florida - Wykeris Newshawn Stevenson, 26, of Dunnellon, Florida, was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) in Tampa, Florida, about 7:07 pm, Dec. 8, after a two-hour, high speed pursuit by law enforcement that began in Pasco County, Florida. She was taken into custody on the Howard Frankland Bridge, near the 40 mile marker on Interstate 275.
Ms. Stevenson, who lives on W. Riverbend Rd. in the Citrus County area of Dunnellon, was arrested on numerous charges after she was evaluated and medically cleared at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg (Pinellas County) due to a complaint by Ms. Stevenson that she was pregnant and experiencing an epileptic episode,
The pursuit began around 5:07 pm, when FHP dispatch notified troopers be on the lookout for a stolen silver colored 2017 Nissan Altima four-door sedan in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 near mile marker 285, in Pasco County. The vehicle was reported as stolen from the Gainesville Police Jurisdiction in Alachua County, Florida by a car rental company, Sunrise Auto RNT SVC, Inc. A caller from the rental company provided the location data for the stolen vehicle to the FHP. Troopers located the vehicle in a middle southbound lane of Interstate 275 near mile marker 40 (near Dale Mabry Highway). Due to slowed traffic in the area, a trooper managed to attach a StarChase tag to the rear trunk of the stolen vehicle for tracking purposes.
When troopers in marked vehicles activated their emergency equipment, Ms. Stevenson took evasive action and began to flee on the southbound inside shoulder of Interstate 275, in heavy traffic at speeds over 100 mph. When the pursuit approached the Howard Frankland Bridge, Ms. Stevenson applied her brakes, intentionally 'brake-checking'one of the patrol vehicles, according to the report, nearly causing a trooper to crash.
When Ms. Stevenson slowed to speeds of 50 to 60 mph in an attempt to enter an unoccupied construction zone, the report stated, the lead patrol vehicle in pursuit executed a PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique) maneuver, which forces a fleeing car to abruptly turn sideways so that the driver loses control and stops, due to no other vehicles being in harm's way. After the PIT maneuver, the stolen Nissan began to roll backward into traffic, so another trooper in pursuit protected motorists by positioning his patrol vehicle between the Nissan and the traffic, and the left rear of the stolen Nissan struck the right side of the patrol vehicle, causing all of the patrol vehicle's airbags to deploy, the report stated.
Ms Stevenson was taken into custody without further incident. The report stated that her driver's license had been suspended on Nov. 1, 2018, and she has "multiple" non extraditable arrest warrants from Georgia.
Ms. Stevenson was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail in Tampa, Florida, about 10:00 pm, charged with fleeing from law enforcement at high rate of speed, grand theft of a motor vehicle, reckless driving with damages to persons or property, driving while license suspended, and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer ($17,750 bond).