At Least 4 Dead After Driver Slams Into Crowd Outside a Tampa Bar, Police Say

U.S.|At Least 4 Dead After Driver Slams Into Crowd Outside a Tampa Bar, Police Say

At least four people were killed and 11 others injured in Tampa, Fla., after a speeding driver crashed into a group of people outside a bar early on Saturday morning, the police said.

The crash happened shortly after midnight. The police spotted a person driving recklessly on a nearby highway and attempted to pull the car over.

The vehicle, which the police said was previously involved in a street race a few miles away, sped off, and the police pursued it.

At one point, the police unsuccessfully attempted to stop the car with a PIT maneuver, in which the police strike a car’s rear at an angle during a pursuit, before disengaging, Sgt. Steve Gaskins of the Florida Highway Patrol said at a news conference.

The driver later lost control of the car, slamming into a group of more than a dozen people outside a bar that local news media identified as Bradley’s on 7th, an L.G.B.T.Q. bar. The police said there was no indication that the bar was intentionally targeted.

“They were out in Ybor, having a good time, expecting to go home safely,” the Tampa police chief, Lee Bercaw, said at a news conference, referring to the neighborhood where the crash happened. “A careless, reckless driver takes everybody’s lives there in his hands and just ended this night in a situation that’s never going be the same for these individuals.”

Video shared on social media from the crash showed a car on a sidewalk, its front end crumpled against the exterior of a building.

Three people died at the scene and another died at a hospital, the police said.

Nine others were taken to hospitals. One person was in critical condition early on Saturday and the others were in stable condition, the police said. Two people with minor injuries declined care at the scene, officials said.

The police said they charged a man, Silas Sampson, 22, of Dade City, Fla., with vehicular homicide. Additional charges are expected, Sergeant Gaskins said.

Online, people and organizations shared memories of the bar and expressed condolences for the victims and their families.

“Our hearts are heavy,” St Pete Pride, an L.G.B.T.Q. organization, wrote on social media. “Many of us have shared laughter, love, and unforgettable memories at Bradley’s on 7th, a place that has long been a gathering spot in Tampa’s Ybor City for the LGBTQ+ community.”