Fighting Drunk Driving Gets South Tampa Bar Recognized By Hillsborough County Sheriffs

Early this morning police spotted a SUV driving very slowly with its lights off. The officers suspected DUI and attempted to pull the Kia Sorento over. At that point the car stopped but as soon as officers exited their vehicle 26-year-old Eric Lee Peoples took off. The officer did not chase the car due to department policy on pursuits. They did however have the man suspected of drunk driving followed by a helicopter in the area.

According to TampaBay.com, the helicopter captured Peoples driving erratically for about 15 minutes. The suspect then crashed his car into a parked van. The officers in the air called for an ambulance but before they could get there the SUV caught on fire. Peoples was taken to Tampa General Hospital where he died later. Peoples had a longcriminal record in Hillsborough County which included arrests in Tampa for drug possession, grand theft, resisting arrest and burglary.