St. Pete Man Charged With Battering Nurse, Deputy Following Crash

TREASURE ISLAND, FL — A 21-year-old St. Petersburg man has been arrested after deputies say he battered a nurse and Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy at an emergency room where he was taken following a crash.

Jacob Allyn Turner has been charged with one count of battery on a law enforcement officer and one count of battery on an emergency medical care provider. A driving under the influence charge is pending the results of a blood-alcohol test.

According to the sheriff's office, Turner was involved in a crash on Sunday at 6:22 p.m. on the Treasure Island Causeway just east of Paradise Boulevard.

According to investigators, Turner was driving a 2003 Ford Explorer west on Treasure Island Causeway when he lost control and began to slide sideways, crossing over the center median into the eastbound lanes of Treasure Island Boulevard and into the path of a Volvo V70 driven by Laura Varonich, 59, of St. Petersburg.

Both Turner and Varonich were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies say Turner showed signs of impairment so a deputy accompanied him to the hospital for a blood-alcohol test. That's where deputies say Turner became combative.