Fleeing Burglar Hit, Killed By Cadillac: Deputies

LARGO, FL — A late Saturday night auto burglary in Clearwater took a deadly for a St. Petersburg man when deputies say he ran into a road in unincorporated Lago and got struck by a passing Cadillac CTS.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, its investigators began unraveling the details behind the string of events that led up to Donald Sands’ death when Cpl. Chris Platt noticed a man lying in the eastbound lanes of Ulmerton Road around 11:30 p.m. July 22. Platt was patrolling in the area at the time when he spotted the man just east of 62nd Street.

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Platt immediately pulled over and found Sands, 55, unconscious. The deputy noted Sands “had clearly been struck by a vehicle,” an email from the sheriff’s office said. Platt called for fire rescue and began life-saving measures. Sands, however, was pronounced dead when fire rescue personnel arrived on the scene.

Authorities say the motorist involved in the crash, Chad McLaughlin, 36, of Tampa made a “U-turn on Ulmerton Road after hitting something.” He returned to the scene and spoke with deputies who noted “substantial damage to the passenger side of his 2017 Cadillac CTS vehicle.”

While deputies were waiting for the Florida Highway Patrol to respond to investigate the crash, they learned that “Sands had just committed a vehicle burglary” in Clearwater’s Leisure World Mobile Home Park.

The victim of that burglary, Shelby Slocumb, 42, told deputies he saw Sands inside his 2001 GMC Yukon and “gave chase to Sands on foot,” the email said. Slocumb evidently lost sight of Sands and returned to his home to retrieve his vehicle. He subsequently stumbled upon the scene of the pedestrian crash, the sheriff’s office said.

“Slocumb told deputies he was unaware of the crash,” the email said. “Sands matched the exact description provided by Slocumb and was in possession of a red cub that had change stolen from the victim’s car,” the email added.

As for the highway patrol’s crash investigation, troopers say McLaughlin was heading east when Sands, a St. Petersburg resident, crossed into his path. Charges were not filed, according to a highway patrol report.

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Photo courtesy of the Florida Highway Patrol