​K9 Deputy Captures Driver After He Flees Crash Scene

RIVERVIEW, FL -- Thanks to the actions of a Hillsborough County Sheriff's K9 deputy, a Riverview man charged with drunk driving is in the doghouse.

On Monday, Dec. 17 at 8:42 p.m., deputies responded to a call of a head-on collision just east of the intersection of Bloomingdale Avenue and Watson Road.

Deputies say Vincent Virgilio, 29, was driving a stolen 1997 Dodge Dakota truck when he swerved into the eastbound lanes and struck a 2019 Honda Civic driven by Kayla Cowans, 23, of Brandon.

The head-on crash disabled both vehicles. Cowans was taken to Tampa General Hospital to be treated for serious injuries.

Virgilio fled the traffic crash on foot, as aviation and K9 deputies responded to the area to search for him. K9 LyCan tracked Virgilio to a wooden shed in a back in the 3400 block of Yale Circle and pulled Virglio to the doorway where deputies took him into custody.

Virgilio provided two breath samples at the time of arrest and registered blood-alcohol levels of .159 and .148. Florida considers anyone with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 and above legally drunk.

Virgilio was arrested and charged with driving under the influence with serious injuries, driving with a revoked license, grand theft of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury.

Images via Hillsborough Sheriff

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