An air patrol unit spotted the silver sedan driving recklessly on a freeway at about 12.40am local time (3.40pm AEDT) after it was seen street racing in another neighbourhood, the Tampa Police Department said in a statement.
The Florida Highway Patrol caught up with the vehicle and tried to perform a PIT manoeuvre, which involves bumping the rear fender to cause a spinout, but it was unsuccessful.
Highway patrol officers “disengaged” as the vehicle sped toward historic Ybor City near downtown, police said, and ultimately the driver lost control and hit more than a dozen people outside the bar, Bradley’s on 7th.
Three people died at the scene, and a fourth died at a hospital.
As of Saturday afternoon, two people were hospitalised in critical condition, seven were listed as stable and two had been treated and discharged, police said.
Additionally, there were two people who had only minor injuries and declined treatment at the scene.
“What happened this morning was a senseless tragedy, our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims and all those who were impacted,” Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement.
Officers identified the suspect as 22-year-old Silas Sampson, who was booked and was being held at the Hillsborough County Jail.
Court documents show Sampson was charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and four counts of aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death, all first-degree felonies.
No attorney was immediately listed for Sampson who could speak on his behalf.
“Our entire city feels this loss,” Mayor Jane Castor, who also served as Tampa’s first female police chief, said on social media.
She added that the investigation is ongoing.
In recent years, some states and local agencies have pushed to restrict high-speed car chases to protect both civilians and officers.
Following a rise in fatalities, a 2023 study funded by the US Department of Justice called for chases to be rare, saying the dangers often outweigh the immediate need to take someone into custody.
Nevertheless, Florida’s highway patrol has loosened limits on car chases and PIT maneuvers, tactics that the Justice Department-backed report characterised as “high-risk” and “controversial.”
