A Largo Police officer escaped injuries after an impaired driver collided with his patrol car in the southbound lanes of US-19.
The crash occurred at approximately 10:50 p.m. on Monday, March 21, 2022
The officer was conducting a traffic stop with emergency lights on along U.S. 19 south of East Bay Drive when a driver, 36 year-old Hilario Gonzalez Perez, crashed into the officer’s patrol car. The officer was walking back to his patrol car when a F-250 truck slammed into the back side of his patrol car. Gonzalez Perez had a blood alcohol level of .16 according to the Largo Police Department. The officer was not injured.
The patrol car and truck were severely damaged as seen in a dashcam video released by the Largo Police Department (below)
Gonzalez Perez was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, resisting an officer without violence (obstruction), and a violation of a driver’s license restriction by court order.
On January 21, 2022, Gonzalez Perez was arrested for driving under the influence after refusing to submit to a breath test.
Video of the crash as released by the Largo Police Department
