Man arrested after punching Rideshare driver in Manatee County, stealing his car: MCSO
MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. - A man is accused of punching a Rideshare driver in Manatee County, stealing his car, and then leading deputies on a pursuit in which his car was engulfed in sparks and eventually caught on fire.
According to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Leo Paul Bradley, 26, was arrested and charged with Battery, Motor Vehicle Theft, Accident Involving a Vehicle, and Aggravated Fleeing with Damage in connection to the incident.
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At around 12:18 a.m. on Thursday, Bradley punched a Rideshare driver with "Diamond J Taxi" out of Sarasota in the 3500 block of 1st Street West because he refused to pay in advance for a trip from Bradenton to Tampa, according to MCSO.
Bradley knocked the driver to the ground and stole his vehicle.
"[It’s an] early morning chase that never should have happened, but we have a suspect who decided that he didn’t want to pay for his private car service from Bradenton all the way to Tampa," said Randy Warren, a spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. "[He] decides to take it out on the driver and starts beating on him, punching him, knocks him down on the ground, jumps into the vehicle and takes off."
Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office
Deputies spotted the stolen SUV fleeing eastbound on Manatee Avenue West. They initiated a pursuit, leading Bradley to switch directions and head west toward Anna Maria Island, later striking a deputy's patrol vehicle.
According to MCSO, the sheriff's office's helicopter started tracking the SUV. Their aviation video shows the car as sparks fly, swerving in and out of oncoming traffic.
Bradley eventually drove the stolen vehicle into a light pole, knocking it into the roadway. He continued into another light pole, coming to a stop in a ditch, where it continued to try to drive, but sparks surrounded it.
Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office
Multiple MCSO units surrounded the car, according to authorities. Fire and EMS removed Bradley from the car and took him to Blake Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Warren said it was fortunate that the pursuit happened at a time when there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road.
"He’s losing control of the vehicle. He’s swerving into the left lane. We have oncoming traffic. Fortunately, the driver of that vehicle, as you can see, takes measures to run off the road rather than having a head-on collision. This could have been a whole lot worse," said Warren, as he described MCSO’s helicopter video.