By Madeleine Marr
Miami Herald
OLDSMAR, Fla. — A driver was going the wrong way early Thursday outside Tampa., and deputies went into action
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, at around 1 a.m., deputies responded to reports of a driver traveling east in the westbound lanes of State Road 580 in Oldsmar.
Dashcam video posted to social media shows the dark-colored sedan zooming along the other side of the road with a patrol car, siren wailing and lights blaring, in pursuit.
“Pull over!” yells the deputy, but is ignored or not heard.
Sheriff’s spokesperson Amanda Sinni says a “PIT” maneuver brought the drama to a stop. In the so-called Precision Immobilization Technique, a deputy’s car rams the suspect’s rear bumper, causing a driver to lose control, and ideally, come to a stop.
The maneuver worked in this case. The driver is briefly seen attempting to go over the median, but within seconds, the wild ride is over.
“All right,” says the deputy into the radio. “I got the PIT.”
The 78-year-old driver is seen stepping out of the vehicle. She was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and held without bond.
“Thanks for the quick actions of our deputies, there were no injuries and several lives were potentially saved,” says Sinni, who added that the driver nearly hit several other vehicles, including a semi-truck.
NEXT: How police use the PIT maneuver to end vehicle pursuits
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