Florida Highway Patrol trooper injured in crash with suspected drunken driver in Pasco

A 29-year-old man from Seffner faces charges of driving under the influence after he crashed into a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in Wesley Chapel Monday night.

The driver, whose name has not been released, was traveling south in the left turn lane on Curley Road approaching State Road 54 about 11:50 p.m. The driver didn’t stop at a red light at the intersection and struck a marked highway patrol vehicle, according to a news release.

The front right side of the patrol car collided with the right rear of the other vehicle, causing it to rotate and hit a concrete barrier wall. The trooper’s vehicle came to a controlled stop in the bicycle lane of the roadway, the release said.

Both drivers were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries. The driver who struck the patrol car was later arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.