St. Pete Man Left Fatal Seffner Crash Site In An Uber With 8-Year-Old Son: FL Troopers

SEFFNER, FL — A St. Petersburg man was arrested one month after leaving the scene of a Seffner-area fatal three-vehicle crash in an Uber with his 8-year-old son, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release.

Christopher Gage Everson, 32, was arrested Thursday and charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, failure to register a motor vehicle, no proof insurance, following too close and driver not wearing a seatbelt.

The crash happened on April 11 at 10:56 p.m. on State Road 574, west of Chastain Road, FHP said.

Troopers reported that a Nissan Versa driven by 40-year-old Mulberry man Garry Baptiste was traveling east on the highway when it crossed into the westbound lane and collided nearly head-on with a Volkswagen Passat driven by a 17-year-old Seffner boy.

After the impact, both vehicles rotated and came to rest in the roadway, according to FHP.

Troopers said the Passat was then struck by a Ford F-150 traveling westbound behind it. The driver of that pickup truck, later identified as Everson, left the crash scene on foot and remained at large during the early stages of the investigation.

The 17-year-old driver of the Passat was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries and later died, FHP said.
Baptiste was also transported to a hospital with serious injuries and remains hospitalized. He was later cited for careless driving.

Everson was arrested Thursday at 11 a.m. after detectives determined that he walked away from the crash scene and called an Uber rideshare. Using the Uber, he was transported to his St. Petersburg home with his 8-year-old son.

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