Suspect Who Battered Woman During I-4 Drive To Hard Rock Sought: FHP

FLORIDA — Troopers are searching for a man accused of battering a woman Tuesday afternoon as they drove on I-4, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

A witness spotted a man and a woman having an altercation while traveling westbound in a Kia sedan as they headed from Polk County into Hillsborough County around 2 p.m.

The woman was yelling for help and trying to get out of the car, the witness told investigators.

Troopers spotted the car on I-4 near mile marker 20 and the car drove away from an attempted traffic stop, FHP said. The driver got off the interstate several times, turning around and, at one point, briefly driving west in the eastbound lanes.

They eventually lost sight of the car as it exited onto U.S. 92.

The victim, a 27-year-old Orlando woman, was found at a gas station at the intersection of U.S. 92 and Orient Road with minor injuries, which she received while being battered by the suspect.

She told investigators that she and the suspect were driving to the casino from Orlando when they had a financial dispute, which led to the altercation, FHP said.

Her car was found abandoned at the Hard Rock Casino. The driver, a Black man nicknamed “Cash,” had been picked up by another driver and brought to an unknown location, troopers learned.

Anyone with information regarding the suspect’s identity and location is asked to call *FHP (*347) or Crime Stoppers at **TIPS.