Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that deputies arrested Tonnetta Evans, a 54‑year‑old woman with eleven felony convictions, after she fled a traffic stop and collided with a school bus carrying 41 Pierce Middle School students, a driver and a bus aide.
Escape attempt and crash
Deputies pulled Evans over at 4:36 p.m. on Hillsborough Avenue West, just west of Dale Mabry Highway North, in a silver Kia Forte. When officers tried to remove her after establishing probable cause to search the vehicle, Evans put the car in drive and sped eastward, leaving a deputy partially inside the vehicle.
She immediately struck the school bus before a pursuit could begin. The impact caused only minor damage, and none of the children were injured. After the crash, the students were transferred to another bus to continue home.
Arrest and seized items
Deputies later stopped Evans at the Howard Avenue and Armenia Avenue ramp to southbound I‑275 and took her into custody. A search of the vehicle uncovered methamphetamine, a pipe bomb, brass knuckles, a TASER, a bandolier of shotgun shells, prescription pills, five stolen credit and identification cards, $1,100 in counterfeit $1,000 bills and silver coins. The car had been reported stolen out of Kentucky in 2022.
Criminal background
Evans has a lengthy criminal record, including three prison terms in Indiana for nine felony convictions and two convictions in Kentucky. Her offenses span escape, burglary, vehicle burglary, identity theft and narcotics possession. She also faces a Kentucky warrant for failure to appear on methamphetamine possession and identity‑theft charges.
Charges and official response
She now faces multiple local charges, including aggravated battery on a law‑enforcement officer, armed possession of methamphetamine and hit‑and‑run involving a school bus.
“This suspect showed a complete disregard for the safety of our deputy, other motorists and the children of our community, and we are extremely fortunate that no one was seriously hurt,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “Thanks to the quick actions of our deputies, a dangerous career criminal who was driving around with a pipe bomb in her car is now off our streets.”
Original reporting: Tampa Bay Florida News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
