Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested a reckless driver who caused a three-vehicle pile up in Oldsmar.
On Wednesday, August 12, 2020, at 10:30 a.m., deputies responded to a traffic accident on West Hillsborough Avenue and Race Track Road. A witness called 911 after seeing a red Tesla traveling erratically on Hillsborough Avenue and then rear-ending another vehicle. The crash caused the victim's vehicle to rear-end the car in front of it.
When deputies arrived, they asked the Tesla driver, identified as Linda Norris, 59, to step out of the vehicle. They immediately noticed she was slurring her words and her movements appeared unstable. Deputies asked her where she was going and where she came from, but said Norris was unable to provide a clear answer. Inside her vehicle, deputies discovered an open container of Fireball in the center console and two additional, but closed, bottles in her purse.
Unable to pass the field sobriety exercises, and refusing to give a breath sample, Norris was placed under arrest.
No one involved in the three-vehicle crash reported injuries.
"It's infuriating to know some drivers have no respect for the law or the lives around them," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "Furthermore, Linda Norris is a public official, and should behave accordingly. Instead, she serves as an example of our commitment to identifying and catching those who break the law, no matter who they are."