Troopers Say a Tampa Driver Hit 105 MPH Before Crashing Off the I-4 Ramp at Columbus Drive Early Sunday
An FHP arrest affidavit says Charisma McGowan, 31, ran a red light, crossed Columbus Drive, hit a traffic island and a streetlight pole, and then recorded breath-test results of 0.145 - nearly twice Florida's legal limit.
A Tampa woman is facing DUI and other charges after Florida Highway Patrol troopers said she was driving at more than 100 miles per hour before crashing her Mercedes SUV near Interstate 4 in Tampa early Sunday, FOX 13 reported from an FHP arrest affidavit. Charisma McGowan, 31, was arrested after the crash near the I-4 eastbound exit ramp and East Columbus Drive.
An FHP supervisor who was stopped at a red light around 2 a.m. saw the SUV speeding east on the I-4 exit ramp, estimated it at more than 100 mph and recorded 105 mph on radar, the affidavit says; the posted limit on the main lanes of I-4 in that area is 55 mph. The SUV ran the red light, overshot a right turn, hit a concrete median, crossed the westbound lanes of East Columbus Drive, hit a traffic island and a streetlight pole, and stopped against a curb, troopers said. McGowan and a passenger were inside; the affidavit says she repeatedly tried to reverse the disabled vehicle, later re-entered it and tried to drive again, and pulled away when a trooper tried to handcuff her.
A second trooper conducted the DUI investigation. The affidavit says McGowan told the trooper she had drunk a shot of liquor and smoked about half a gram of medical marijuana around 9 p.m. the previous night, and that her breath test returned results of 0.145 and 0.145, above Florida's 0.08 legal limit. She was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on charges including DUI with property damage, reckless driving and resisting an officer without violence. Troopers did not say whether the passenger was hurt or faces any charges.
