Video shows chaos as overdosing driver rolls through rush-hour traffic, Florida cops say

A man who “appeared to be unconscious at the wheel” joined rush-hour traffic on a six-lane Florida highway, and the resulting chaos was recorded by a deputy’s dash camera.

It happened around 6 p.m. on Friday, April 14, on McMullen Booth Road in Safety Harbor, just west of Tampa, according to an affidavit from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s Deputy G. Pereira was on his way to work when he spotted a southbound Honda Civic driving erratically just ahead of him, officials said in a news release.

Dash cam video, shared April 18 on Facebook, shows the swerving car left the road at times and traveled through the grass.

The motorist then appeared to overcorrect and drove on the unpaved median, where he ran over traffic signs.

It was when the car headed into oncoming traffic that the deputy took drastic action, running his patrol car into the side of the Civic.

“Fearful the driver may cause a serious crash, and to prevent him from hurting or killing anyone, Deputy Pereira used a pit maneuver to stop the vehicle,” officials said.

A body-worn camera shows the driver was “practically unresponsive and had to be removed from the vehicle and placed on the ground,” officials said.

The 31-year-old driver was revived after being given multiple doses of a medication used for opioid overdoses, the affidavit says. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation and later charged with DUI, possession of fentanyl and possession off marijuana, officials said.

The 90-second video had been watched more than 18,000 times as of April 19, and gotten hundreds of reactions and comments, including some who noted the car was stopped not far from McMullen-Booth Elementary School.

“Deputy Pereira is a hero,” one commenter wrote.

“Crazy (beyond) belief no one was hurt,” another posted.

This story was originally published April 19, 2023 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Video shows chaos as overdosing driver rolls through rush-hour traffic, Florida cops say."