STAFF REPORT
SARASOTA
Copyright 2006 Sarasota Herald-Tribune Co.
A chase that started in Manatee County ended in north Sarasota minutes later when a deputy’s cruiser slammed into an oncoming car on U.S. 301.
Authorities said no one was hurt. Another deputy in the chase continued following the vehicle, which was abandoned in the Newtown neighborhood. One person was arrested on drug charges.
The chase started Saturday morning with a traffic stop at 58th Avenue and Fifth Street East in Bradenton, according to officers.
As sheriff’s deputy Jeff Bliss approached the vehicle, the driver threw the sport utility vehicle in reverse, nearly striking Bliss, according to sheriff’s reports.
The 2006 silver Ford Explorer took off, and deputies followed onto U.S. 301, and then south into Sarasota County.
Deputy George McCorkle of the Community Oriented Policing Section was driving the patrol car that collided with a northbound gray Chevrolet Malibu at U.S. 301 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
The patrol car had minor damage to the passenger side, and the Malibu’s front end was completely smashed.
Authorities did not immediately find the driver of the Ford SUV. The passenger, Bradenton resident Maurice D. Johnson, 29, was arrested on a drug-related warrant, sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Barron said.
June 5, 2006