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FHP: Wrong-way driver hit 100 miles per hour before sideswiping car

 
Published June 23, 2018

A Clearwater man who authorities said sideswiped a car while driving more than 100 miles per hour the wrong way on U.S. 41 was arrested Friday.

Wendel Jamel James, 35, is charged with DUI with property damage, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

It happened near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Valroy Road in Hillsborough County. James was driving north in the southbound lane of U.S. 41 when an off-duty Pinellas County sheriff's deputy spotted him, the FHP said. James then sideswiped a southbound car, which came to rest in the median.

The deputy who spotted James stopped him by pulling a U-turn into his path. James was later arrested by the FHP.

The driver of the other car, a 26-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries. She was not taken to a hospital.