Auto Thief Nabbed After Causing 2 Crashes

A Tampa area man is behind bars after police say he led them on a chase that included a wrong-way trip down Interstate 275 and two separate car crashes early Wednesday morning.

The incident unfolded around 1:33 a.m. when Hillsborough County deputies in the area of 140th and Nebraska Avenue spotted a black Chevrolet Tahoe that had been reported stolen. When they tried to stop the SUV, the driver took off and got onto I-275 at Fowler Avenue with deputies on his tail, wrote Debbie Carter, sheriff’s office spokeswoman, in an email to media.

The driver then got off the Interstate, but got right back on. This time he was going the wrong way – southbound in the northbound travel lane, Carter wrote.

“At that time deputies discontinued the pursuit as aviation was on scene and monitoring the vehicle,” she said. “There were no other vehicles on the interstate at the time when the suspect was traveling the wrong way.”

When the man got off again at Busch Boulevard, he struck one vehicle and side-swiped another. The Tahoe’s driver then tried to take off on foot, but was caught by Tampa Police officers, Carter said.

While one of the motorists was taken to a local hospital to be checked out, Carter said the both are OK.

The Tahoe’s driver, however, faces a number of criminal charges.

Jason Fulford, 28, of 3401 N. Lakeview Drive, No. 1209, in the Carrollwood area was charged with grand theft auto, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, burglary of a vehicle and leaving the scene of a crash with injures, among other charges. He was being held at the Hillsborough County Jail on $27,500 bond, according to jail records.

Fulford is no stranger to the Hillsborough County Jail. He was arrested several times in the past on charges that include possession of cocaine and grand theft auto, jail records indicate.

Photo Credit: Jason Lee Fulford/Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office