Stolen Range Rover Slammed Into Parked SUV: Cops

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — A routine traffic stop in New Port Richey took a dangerous turn Tuesday night when police say the driver of a 2015 Range Rover attempted to flee.

According to the New Port Richey Police Department, an officer tried to stop Lionel Bates just before 8 p.m. March 28 because the Range Rover he was driving had windows that were tinted too dark. When the officer flipped on his lights in the area of Louisiana Avenue, near Madison Street, Bates is accused of accelerating at a high rate of speed.

A second officer happened to be driving a marked cruiser in the westbound lane of Louisiana Avenue at that time. Police say Bates drove the Range Rover into the westbound lane “in an attempt to crash head on” into the cruiser. The officer behind the wheel of the cruiser ran off the road to avoid the crash, an email from the agency said.

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Following the near collision, Bates is accused of continuing on to the intersection with Carob Drive. At that point, police say his Range Rover struck a bollard in a yard in the 6700 block of Carob before hitting a Toyota SUV parked in the driveway of a home.

“The residents were attempting to enter their car,” the email noted. A woman was injured in the crash, police said.

After hitting the Toyota, police say Bates bailed out of the Range Rover and tried to get away on foot. He was caught a short time later, the agency noted.

Bates, who has no known address, now faces a long list of charges with more pending. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and also determined the Range Rover had been reported stolen in February 2015 from North Carolina. Inside the vehicle, police say they found drugs, a handgun, ammunition and $1,150 in cash.

As of Wednesday morning, Bates had been charged with such offenses as aggravated fleeing to elude, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, armed trafficking in cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of cannabis oil and armed trafficking of a controlled substance.

The woman who was injured when the Range Rover hit the Toyota suffered injuries that are described as not life-threatening. Police have not released her identity.

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Photos courtesy of the New Port Richey Police Department