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Man rams patrol car in Brandon car chase<p></p>

 
Published Feb. 10, 2015

BRANDON — A 19-year-old driver allegedly kept Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies at bay Monday morning by driving over a median and ramming a patrol car to avoid capture.

The Sheriff's office said Ralph Bouzy, 19, of Brandon, was driving a black Nissan Altima when he first hit another car near Faulkenburg Road and Causeway Boulevard about 1:30 a.m. Monday and drove off with the headlights off and subsequently ran red lights.

The Sheriff's office said the Altima then tried to hit an oncoming deputy's car head on. Moments later, after deputies boxed the car in with their cars, the Altima rammed one of the patrol cars to move it out of the way and escape. Next, it hit a parked car at a gas station and jumped a median.

Finally, when the driver exited the car, he took a "fighting stance" against a deputy, who responded by using a Taser before taking him into custody, the sheriff's office said.

Bouzy faces charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a motor vehicle, possession of cannabis, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and two counts of obstructing or opposing an officer without violence. He was released from Hillsborough County Jail Monday night on $9,250 bail.