Teen Driving Stolen Car Died In Palmetto Crash: Manatee County Sheriff

PALMETTO, FL — The teen driver of a car stolen in Hillsborough County was killed Monday night in a Palmetto crash, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Deputies were alerted about a stolen Honda Accord heading south on U.S. 41 around 8 p.m.

They found the car in the 4900 block and, after confirming it was stolen, began following it. Deputies tried to pull the car over in the 1000 block of U.S. 41, the sheriff’s office said.

While the driver, later identified as Michael Jerome Austin, 18, of Ruskin, initially slowed down, it made a U-turn at the intersection of U.S. 41 and 7th Street before turning east onto 17th Street East, investigators said.

The stolen vehicle was about a half a mile ahead of deputies when it hit the back of another car in the 1800 block of 17th Street East in Palmetto.

The crash caused the stolen car to spin out of control and roll several times, the sheriff’s office said.

The vehicle that was hit came to a stop in the front yard of a nearby home.

Austin was found unconscious in the stolen car and removed from it by fire rescue workers.

He was brought to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The other driver, a 24-year-old woman, was also taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

See Also:

• Masked Robbers Pepper Sprayed CVS Employees: St. Pete Police
• DUI Driver Hit Deputy During Tampa Traffic Stop: Hillsborough Sheriff
• 2 Arrested In Armed Robbery At Bradenton Grocery Store: Sheriff
• Man Accused In Theft Of Classic Car Arrested 2 Years Later After Removing Ankle Monitor: Sarasota Police
• Retired FL Cop Arrested After Making Threats Over Parking Ticket At Publix: Sheriff