2 Injured In Deputy-Involved Crash

LARGO, FL — A Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy and a motorist from Tampa were injured in a three-vehicle crash that occurred in the Largo area Thursday morning.

According to the sheriff’s office, Deputy Sean O'Brien was heading west on Ulmerton Road in a marked 2010 Ford Crown Victoria, nearing U.S. 19 around 7:19 a.m. O’Brien, the agency reported in an email to media, stopped at the intersection for a red light when he received a call for backup from a nearby deputy working a crash on Ulmerton Road and 66th Street.

O’Brien activated his emergency lights and proceeded through the intersection, the agency wrote. As he neared the south frontage road lanes of U.S. 19, a vehicle on the median southbound lane yielded to the oncoming cruiser.

O’Brien “then proceeded across the lanes of traffic as a 2006 Toyota Corolla being driven by Danielle Elliott was traveling southbound in the curb lane of the U.S. Highway 19 Frontage Road. Elliott failed to see Deputy O'Brien's emergency lights and struck the passenger side of Deputy O'Brien's patrol vehicle.”

After striking the patrol vehicle, Elliott’s vehicle struck at 2013 Honda Pilot that was stopped at the intersection, the agency said.

“Witnesses at the scene told investigators that they clearly heard the deputy's siren and saw his emergency lights as he proceeded through the intersection immediately prior to the crash,” the email said.

O’Brien, who has worked for the agency since July 2005, and Elliott, 52, of the Nine Eagles area of Tampa were both taken to local hospitals with what are reported to be non-life threatening injuries. The Pilot’s driver, Shannon M. Heller, 37, of Largo was not injured.

The investigation is ongoing with no charges announced at this time.

Image via Shutterstock

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