From the Florida Highway Patrol and Staff Reports
A month after a deadly three-vehicle crash on State Road 574 in Hillsborough County, the Florida Highway Patrol says the driver who fled the scene has been arrested after investigators determined he left in an Uber with his 8-year-old son while another driver died from injuries suffered in the wreck.
According to FHP, Christopher Gage Everson, 27, of St. Petersburg, was arrested Thursday morning following what troopers described as an “extensive investigation” into the April 11 crash near Chastain Road.
Investigators said Everson was driving a Ford F-150 westbound on SR-574 behind a Volkswagen Passat shortly before 11 pm when a Nissan Versa crossed into oncoming traffic and collided nearly head-on with the Passat.
The initial crash report stated that the Nissan Versa, driven by a 40-year-old Mulberry man identified by FHP as Garry Baptiste, traveled into the westbound lane and struck the Passat, driven by a 17-year-old Seffner male. After the impact, both vehicles rotated into the roadway, where the Passat was then struck by Everson’s pickup truck.
Troopers said the teenage driver was transported to a hospital with serious injuries but later died. Baptiste also suffered serious injuries and remains hospitalized, according to the latest update from FHP.
What transformed the case from a fatal traffic crash into a criminal investigation was what happened next.
FHP said Everson fled the scene on foot immediately after the collision and remained unidentified for weeks. During the investigation, troopers determined that Everson walked away from the crash site and used Uber to travel back to his home in St. Petersburg, taking his 8-year-old son with him.
Authorities did not immediately explain how investigators identified Everson or connected him to the rideshare trip, but the arrest marked the conclusion of a month-long search for the driver who disappeared after the crash.
Everson was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail and charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a felony. He also faces a misdemeanor charge for failure to register a motor vehicle, along with traffic citations for no proof of insurance, following too closely, and not wearing a seat belt.
Meanwhile, Baptiste was cited for careless driving in connection with the crash, according to FHP.
The case highlights the severe criminal consequences attached to leaving the scene of a fatal crash in Florida, particularly in incidents where investigators believe a driver knowingly fled while victims remained critically injured or trapped at the scene.
The identity of the 17-year-old victim has not yet been released by authorities.
