TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper suffered minor injuries Thursday morning when his marked patrol car was rear-ended on Fowler Avenue west of Club Drive in east Hillsborough County.
The crash happened around 9 a.m. after the trooper slammed on his brakes to avoid a blue sedan that pulled out of a private driveway on the south side of Fowler Avenue and into his path, according to FHP.
The trooper stopped safely, but a driver behind him could not stop in time and struck the rear of the patrol vehicle, authorities said.
The vehicle that hit the trooper was an eastbound Nissan Altima driven by an 18-year-old woman from New Port Richey, FHP said. She was not injured in the crash.
After pulling into traffic and causing the sudden stop, the driver of the blue sedan made a U-turn and left the scene, investigators said. FHP is asking anyone with information or dashcam video to contact the Tampa Bay Area Office.
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