Tampa Man Arrested in Street Racing Incident That Left Innocent Person Injured
A street racing incident this morning on Florida Avenue in Tampa resulted in injuries to an innocent motorist, as well as to one of the street racers. The driver of a second car that was engaged in street racing fled the scene.
Tampa Police report that witnesses observed a blue 2012 Dodge Challenger, driven by 23 year-old Michael Heiman, street racing southbound on N. Florida Ave with a white Dodge Challenger driven by an unknown driver.
Both vehicles were exceeding the posted speed limit. Witnesses observed Heiman rapidly switch from the inside to the outside lane to avoid stopped traffic.
Heiman did not see stopped traffic in the outside lane and over-corrected his Challenger. This action caused his vehicle to spin out of control and into northbound Florida Ave traffic. Heiman’s vehicle struck a 2005 black Buick 4 door, driven by Shawntae Allen. Both drivers were immediately transported to Florida Hospital on Fletcher Avenue with severe but non-life threatening injuries.
Heiman was charged with Racing on Public Streets, Driving on a Suspended License, Aggravated Careless Driving, as well as multiple civil citations.
Witnesses were able to get a possible tag of the second vehicle involved in the street racing and detectives are following up on that aspect of the investigation.