Christopher Everson, a 27-year-old man from St. Petersburg, was arrested after troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol say he left the scene of a fatal, three-vehicle wreck in Seffner on April 11 and later grabbed an Uber to go home with his 8-year-old son. The crash near Chastain Road involved a Nissan that crossed into oncoming traffic, a Volkswagen driven by a 17-year-old who later died, and a Ford F-150 that struck the Volkswagen after the initial collision. Authorities say Everson walked away from the crash, returned to a St. Petersburg address via ride service, and was taken into custody on May 7 before being booked into the Hillsborough County Jail. The investigation names Garry Baptiste as the Nissan driver who was cited and remains hospitalized, and lists several criminal and traffic charges linked to Everson’s conduct.
SEFFNER, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol says the chain-reaction crash happened just before 11 p.m. on State Road 574 near Chastain Road, and it left a 17-year-old driver fatally injured and another motorist seriously hurt. According to the troopers’ account, a Mulberry man in a Nissan drifted into the westbound lane and struck a Volkswagen head-on, then both cars stopped in the roadway. A westbound Ford F-150 then collided with the Volkswagen, compounding the crash scene and the injuries involved.
Everson, who lives in St. Petersburg, is accused of leaving that chaotic scene on foot and summoning an Uber to carry him and his young son away from the wreck. Investigators say the ride took them back to Everson’s home, where troopers later located him and took him into custody around 11 a.m. on a Thursday following their follow-up work. Arrest records show Everson was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail and is now facing multiple charges tied to the incident.
Charges listed by authorities include leaving the scene of a crash involving death, which is a felony, as well as vehicle registration and insurance infractions and several traffic violations. Troopers also cited common-sense safety lapses at the scene, noting failure to wear a seat belt and following too closely among the infractions tied to how the collision unfolded. Those alleged violations will be part of the ongoing case file as investigators and prosecutors sort through witness statements, vehicle data, and crash reconstruction findings.
Officials identified the Nissan driver as Garry Baptiste of Mulberry, who was cited for careless driving and treated at a hospital for serious injuries; he remains hospitalized weeks after the crash. The teen who was driving the Volkswagen was taken to a local hospital and later died from injuries sustained in the collision, a loss that has prompted grief within the community and renewed calls for attention to roadway safety. Troopers continue to piece together exactly how the Nissan crossed the center line and why the second impact occurred after the initial collision.
Images released by the Florida Highway Patrol show the crash scene and the damage to the vehicles involved, and a separate booking photo of Everson has circulated with the agency’s statement on the arrest. Those visuals, investigators say, help establish vehicle positions and impact points that support the troopers’ timeline of events. For now, Everson’s case will move through the Hillsborough County legal system while the fatality and the serious injuries remain under review by FHP crash investigators.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Florida Highway Patrol.
