Deputies Jump in to Save Carrollwood Man's Life

A 72-year-old Carrollwood man is in critical condition at a local hospital following a Thursday morning crash along Linebaugh Avenue.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Martin Edward Butler Jr. was in the left-hand turn lane on Linebaugh waiting to turn onto North Dale Mabry Highway around 8:30 a.m. when his car suddenly accelerated forward.

Butler struck a 2001 Nissan Sentra driven by Sivano Cejas, 22, of Tampa. The Nissan was then forced into the rear of a 2006 Infiniti M35, driven by Clarence Crawley Jr., 33, of Seffner.

Deputies Michael Davidson and Matthew McCutcheon saw the people get out of their cars and stopped to investigate. When they did, they discovered Butler was “slumped over the driver’s wheel, unresponsive and his foot still on the accelerator spinning the tires,” sheriff’s office spokesman Det. Larry McKinnon wrote in an email to media.

The deputies realized Butler was suffering from a medical emergency, but realized his doors were locked. They broke out the rear passenger window to gain access to the car.

Once inside, they discovered Butler didn’t have a pulse. They began CPR, McKinnon wrote.

Butler was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The other people involved in the crash were not injured.

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Photo Credit: Accident scene photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office