A speeding vehicle trying to escape law enforcement plowed into a busy bar early Saturday morning, resulting in four fatalities and injuring 11 others in Tampa, Florida’s historic district, an area renowned for its vibrant nightlife and tourism.

According to a statement from the Tampa Police Department, an air patrol unit detected the silver sedan driving erratically on a freeway around 12:40 a.m., following its involvement in a street race in a different neighborhood.

Officers from the Florida Highway Patrol attempted to intercept the car by performing a PIT maneuver, a tactic meant to spin out the vehicle by nudging its rear fender, but the attempt was unsuccessful.

As the car accelerated toward Ybor City, a historic area near downtown, highway patrol officers ceased their pursuit, police reported. The driver eventually lost control, crashing into a crowd of over a dozen people in front of Bradley’s on 7th, a local bar.

Three individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, while a fourth succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. By Saturday afternoon, two of the injured were in critical condition, seven were in stable condition, and two had been treated and released. Additionally, two people with minor injuries chose not to receive medical attention on-site, according to the police.

“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 Saturday 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 U.S. 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 characterized as “high-risk” and “controversial.”

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