Four Innocent Lives Taken in Ybor City

By PursuitSAFETY Staff
November 11, 2025

We’re deeply saddened by the tragedy in Ybor City, Florida, where four innocent bystanders died during a Florida Highway Patrol pursuit. Our hearts go out to their families and friends. PursuitSAFETY and retired police captain Tom Gleason share these stories to honor the victims and to call for safer pursuit policies that protect everyone on our roads.

Four innocent bystanders died early Saturday morning in Ybor City, Florida, after a high-speed Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) pursuit ended in tragedy outside Bradley’s on 7th. The vehicle being chased had reportedly been involved in street racing earlier that night—yet what began as a nonviolent traffic violation ended with devastation for families, friends, and an entire community.

Video footage analyzed by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay shows an FHP vehicle attempting a PIT maneuver on a busy downtown street just seconds before the pursued car slammed into the popular nightclub, killing four people and injuring thirteen others.

Retired police captain Tom Gleason, a longtime law enforcement trainer and PursuitSAFETY advisory board member, reviewed the details and spoke out in two recent interviews with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay and WUSF Public Media.

“Even the best-trained officers, deputies, and troopers should avoid pursuit whenever possible, because they cannot predict the outcome,” Gleason said. “The guy driving the car that you’re chasing is not trained.”

Gleason, who spent decades in policing and pursuit instruction, explained that this pursuit violated several fundamental safety principles: a chase initiated for a nonviolent offense, an attempted PIT maneuver at dangerous speeds, and a continuation of ground pursuit through a densely populated nightlife district.

As video footage later confirmed, the chase continued until seconds before the fatal crash—just 1,000 feet from Bradley’s on 7th, where the victims and more than a dozen others were struck.

FHP’s pursuit policy was relaxed in 2024, allowing broader discretion and higher-risk tactics—changes that directly contradict national best-practice standards. Data collected by TCPalm shows that after this policy shift, FHP chase-related deaths tripled, and the use of PIT maneuvers doubled.

By contrast, national experts—including the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and the U.S. Department of Justice—recommend that pursuits be authorized only for violent crimes and terminated once aerial tracking is established. These guidelines are designed to prevent precisely the kind of tragedy that unfolded on 7th Avenue.

Standing at the crash site, it is impossible to ignore how quickly decisions behind the wheel can end lives. Gleason often reminds officers that every pursuit transforms a fleeing vehicle into what he calls “a 3,000-pound bullet.” The responsibility, he says, lies in deciding not to fire it.

Every life matters. Every preventable death is one too many. Law enforcement officers are sworn to protect the public, and that duty includes knowing when not to chase.

PursuitSAFETY will continue to advocate for safer pursuit policies across the nation—because protecting innocent lives should never be optional.

Read more about this tragedy and Tom Gleason’s full interviews:

• Creative Loafing Tampa Bay: “FHP didn’t stop chasing vehicle until seconds before fatal Ybor City crash”
• WUSF Public Media coverage

Photo Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay