Police Officer Injured In Wrong-Way Crash

DADE CITY, FL — A Temple Terrace Police officer on his way back to town after firearms training became the latest victim of a wrong-way driving incident on Tampa Bay area roads Tuesday night.

According to the police department, Officer Nick Dittman, 31, was heading back home after a class in Lakeland around 9:48 p.m. Dittman was traveling west on County Road 52 when a Hyundai Sonata heading east in the westbound lanes struck the front of his Chevrolet Tahoe. The crash occurred at the intersection of Clinton Avenue and Carmen Avenue, a police department media release said.

Louise Tobbie Valentine, 63, of Dade City was behind the wheel of the Sonata at the time of the crash, police said.

See Also:

• Video: Wrong-Way Driver Nearly Struck Cop
• Hillsborough County Honors Deputy Killed In Crash

“The force of the collision spun Valentine’s vehicle around, and it was struck by another car,” the release noted.

Dittman spotted the wrong-way driver just before the crash, the agency said and activated his lights to alert other motorists.

Valentine was seriously injured in the crash. And, despite suffering minor injuries himself, Dittman “rendered first aid at the scene,” the agency said.

Valentine was airlifted to a local hospital. Dittman was treated for minor injuries and released from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa. The third motorist, Charity Chagro, 20, of Dade City suffered minor injuries and did not require medical treatment, a Florida Highway Patrol report said.

Valentine’s condition is not known at this time. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

Dittman’s encounter is the third involving law enforcement and wrong-way drivers in recent weeks. On March 12, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputy John Kotfila Jr., 30, was killed in an incident on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. On March 20, a wrong-way driver nearly struck a Tampa Police Officer on Interstate 275.

Photos courtesy of the Temple Terrace Police Department

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