Tampa Police Searching for Hit-and-Run Driver

Tampa Police are looking for a suspected hit-and-run driver whose car on Sunday night dragged a man 420 feet before driving off, leaving his victim lying in the middle of Columbus Drive between Ola and Massachusetts avenues, according to a news release by Lt. Craig Sawicki.

The victim, Benjamin York, 47, of Tampa, remains at Tampa General Hospital in stable condition, Sawicki said.

The driver had reportedly been involved in a fight with several people at a party that he was trying to leave at 8:50 p.m., Sawicki said. York followed the driver to a white Mercury to calm him down but was hit by the car as the driver pulled away.

York fell to the pavement and was then caught under the car and dragged under the rear for approximately 420 feet before becoming dislodged, Sawicki said.

The driver then drove north on Ola Avenue. The Mercury was later found at in the 7400 block of South O'Brien Street, Sawicki said.

Police described the driver as a 31-year-old black male with a dark complexion and long dreads. He is 5-feet-11-inches tall, and was last seen wearing a brown jersey-style shirt, black shorts and brown Timberland boots.

Anyone with information is asked to please call the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130 or Crime Stoppers at 800-873-TIPS.