PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A serious crash with life-threatening injuries took place in Pinellas County early Saturday morning after a driver sped away from a traffic stop.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, a deputy tried to pull over the driver of a 2014 BMW X1 for a traffic violation around 2:44 a.m. The driver, Willie Lee Daniels, 41, stopped at first but ended up making a U-turn and speeding away.
Daniels was traveling north on Seminole Boulevard from Ulmerton Road when he eventually crashed into an ambulance that was traveling westbound on East Bay Drive.
Deputies said the ambulance rotated and flipped onto its side as a result of the crash. The ambulance had three people inside: a 25-year-old driver, a 70-year-old patient, and a 28-year-old medic who was treating the patient.
The driver of the ambulance was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The medic who was in the back of the ambulance, along with the patient, were both taken to the hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Daniels also sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators believe speed and impairment were factors in the crash and charges for Daniels are pending.
The investigation is ongoing.
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