In the early hours of the morning, a silver sedan was spotted driving recklessly on a freeway, according to the Tampa Police Department. The incident occurred around 12:40 a.m. local time (3:40 p.m. AEDT) after the vehicle was seen participating in street racing in a different neighborhood.

The Florida Highway Patrol attempted to intercept the car using a PIT maneuver, a tactical move designed to spin a vehicle by nudging its rear fender. However, this attempt did not succeed.

As the chase continued, highway patrol officers decided to “disengage” when the sedan accelerated towards the historic Ybor City, located near downtown. Tragically, the driver lost control and crashed into a crowd outside Bradley’s on 7th, a popular bar, injuring more than a dozen people.

The collision resulted in the immediate deaths of three individuals, while a fourth succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

By Saturday afternoon, authorities reported that two of the injured were in critical condition, seven were stable, and two others had been treated and released from medical care.

Additionally, there were two people who had only minor injuries and declined treatment at the scene.

“What happened this morning was a senseless tragedy, our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims and all those who were impacted,” Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement.

Officers identified the suspect as 22-year-old Silas Sampson, who was booked and was being held at the Hillsborough County Jail.

Court documents show Sampson was charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and four counts of aggravated fleeing or eluding with serious bodily injury or death, all first-degree felonies.

No attorney was immediately listed for Sampson who could speak on his behalf.

“Our entire city feels this loss,” Mayor Jane Castor, who also served as Tampa’s first female police chief, said on social media.

She added that the investigation is ongoing.

In recent years, some states and local agencies have pushed to restrict high-speed car chases to protect both civilians and officers.

Following a rise in fatalities, a 2023 study funded by the US Department of Justice called for chases to be rare, saying the dangers often outweigh the immediate need to take someone into custody.

Nevertheless, Florida’s highway patrol has loosened limits on car chases and PIT maneuvers, tactics that the Justice Department-backed report characterised as “high-risk” and “controversial.”