Man jumps off I-275 overpass to avoid arrest and is nearly hit by semi, Florida cops say
A man accused of repeatedly stabbing a woman tried to evade police by jumping off an overpass into traffic, Florida authorities say.
Thomas Sapp, 31, “narrowly avoided being run over by a semi-truck” on Interstate 275, the Tampa Police Department said in an Oct. 17 news release.
On the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 16, officers responded to a call for service at an apartment complex to find a woman bleeding out with stab wounds on her entire body, police told McClatchy News.
She was taken to a hospital and is now in stable condition, police said.
Sapp and the woman knew each other, but police declined to disclose their relationship beyond that.
Police and the U.S. Marshals Task Force identified Sapp as a suspect and began looking for him, until they found him in a car shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, police said.
He was on County Line Road over I-275 near the intersection of the interstate and I-75, police said. Officers said they began trying to stop traffic, but before they could interact with Sapp, he got out of the vehicle and jumped from the overpass onto I-275.
He was nearly struck by a tractor-trailer and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, according to police. He’s in stable condition and will be charged with attempted murder, authorities said.
The incident affected sections of I-275 and I-75, according to Florida Highway Patrol.