‘Soaking Wet’ Man Arrested After Car Crashes Into Lake

TAMPA, FL — A 21-year-old Tampa man found himself in cold water Friday morning that quickly turned hot after Hillsborough County deputies caught up with him.

According to the sheriff’s office, one of its deputies was out on patrol around 1:30 a.m. Feb. 17 when a dark sedan was spotted swerving in the area of Waters and Himes avenues. The deputy tried to stop the car in the area of Humphrey Street and Himes, but the driver took off, an email from the sheriff’s office said.

The deputy had turned his lights on, but chose not to pursue the fleeing vehicle. The deputy instead continued north on Himes Avenue. As the deputy approached the intersection of Busch Boulevard and Himes, two people flagged the cruiser down. Those people told the deputy they had just watched as a car crashed into White Trout Lake.

“A witness and three deputies immediately jumped into the lake to see if anyone was in the vehicle, but the vehicle was already too deep,” the email said. “The dive team was deployed and arrived quickly to search the vehicle.”

The dive team, however, soon discovered no one was inside the car.

Shortly after deputies learned the car was empty, a woman showed up on the scene. She told them her son had just called and said he had been in a crash in the area of Busch Boulevard and Himes Avenue. It didn’t take deputies long to search the area and find a man who “was soaking wet.” The man, identified as Leroy Henry, was found dripping with water in the area of Sligh and Himes avenues, the email said.

Henry, who had been driving a dark green Infiniti, now faces a long list of charges including fleeing to elude, driving on a suspended or revoked license and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage. He was also charged with violation of probation for a prior DUI, the email noted.

Henry was out on bond for an arrest that occurred on Feb. 2, the agency said. Henry was being held in the Hillsborough County Jail Friday morning without bond, according to jail records.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Jail