TAMPA, Fla. — Two new lawsuits have been filed against the driver in the November 2025 fatal Ybor City crash that killed four people and injured 21 more. The complaints are the first to name the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), the agency that pursued driver Silas Sampson before he crashed into Bradley's on 7th.
Watch report from Kylie McGivern
On Nov. 8, the Tampa Police Department (TPD) tracked a driver from the air, seen street racing on Interstate 275.
Sampson then got off the interstate.
Tampa Police have a strict vehicle pursuit policy and can only chase someone suspected of committing a felony. The Florida Highway Patrol gives troopers more discretion to chase.
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About 5 minutes into the dashcam video the Tampa Bay 28 I-Team obtained from TPD in May 2026, FHP Trooper Alejandro Carrasco turned on his lights. Carrasco attempted a PIT maneuver, which failed to stop Sampson. The trooper then appeared to slow down right at the arch into Ybor City.
Tampa police in the helicopter suggested the trooper break off his pursuit seconds after he had already slowed down and backed off.
"FHP, we'll keep him in sight if you want to back off, since he's on 7th Avenue," the officer said.
That warning came too late. Seconds later, Sampson crashed into Bradley's on 7th.
Four people died and more than a dozen people were injured.
Related: First lawsuit filed against driver in fatal Ybor City crash
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The two new lawsuits take aim at Sampson, Bradley's, the City of Tampa, and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Cam Parker, the plaintiff in one of the suits, was at Bradley's the night of the crash.
"All the puzzle pieces of the night leading up to that chase — all of that, just — I feel like could have been avoided," Cam Parker told Tampa Bay 28 at the time.
"There was a sentence coming out of my mouth and next thing I know there's — it seems like the building's being ripped up in slow motion," Parker said. "When everything comes to and everything stops and the dust and the blowback settles, I realize there's a car right in front of us, there's a young lady pinned between tables and stools and just — quite literally crumpled up before me and she's like, 'Don't leave me, help me, help me, don't leave me,' I'm like I'm not going to leave you because I wouldn't want to be left."
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Parker for negligence and vicarious liability, is among the first naming TPD and FHP for their role in a "... vehicular pursuit through a densely populated commercial and pedestrian area when the risks to the public outweighed any law enforcement benefit."
The lawsuit blames those agencies for "failing to terminate the pursuit in a manner consistent with... policies, general orders, and applicable law", "failing to take reasonable steps to warn or protect pedestrians and members of the public," and "failing to coordinate and communicate with other officers and supervisors to ensure public safety during the pursuit."
Kilani England was sitting on the patio at Bradley's on 7th on Nov. 8, enjoying a night out. Tampa Bay 28 spoke with her attorney just days after the crash, while she was in Tampa General Hospital.
"She was pushed back, like launched all the way back and then pinned between that specific car… and a wall," her attorney said. "This is a life-altering event and pretty safe to say that she's never going to be the same."
TPD completed its own internal review, concluding "TPD did not request FHP to pursue vehicles in any of those cases."
Tampa police updated its pursuit policy, which makes clear, "Officers shall not ask other law enforcement officers to do for them what they are prohibited from doing."
Tampa police had provided radios to communicate directly with FHP troopers. TPD now says "all eight TPD portable radios issued to FHP were collected," and they will communicate on the main radio frequencies to ensure transparency and accountability.
Florida Highway Patrol won't discuss its internal investigation or answer questions about whether it has made any policy changes.
Through public records requests, the Tampa Bay 28 I-Team found out more about Carrasco, the FHP trooper who initiated the chase. Carrasco is in his 20s and joined FHP as a trooper less than three years before the fatal Ybor City crash.
His most recent performance plan, covering the review period of Aug. 4, 2024, through June 30, 2025, commends him, saying:
"His proactive approach to law enforcement has contributed significantly to the reduction of impaired driving incidents, street racing and overall crash prevention. He strives to provide a safe driving environment by aggressively addressing traffic violations."
"Trooper Carrasco has played a key role in numerous vehicle pursuits, many of which have led to the successful apprehension of dangerous criminals. His ability to remain calm under pressure and make quick, tactical decisions has directly contributed to public safety and the successful resolution of high-risk incidents."
Records show Carrasco took an unpaid leave of absence for three weeks in September for workers' comp. It is not known why he needed that time off.
Records the I-Team requested from the Department of Financial Services are still pending. What is known is that he returned to work almost exactly one month before the Ybor City crash, on Oct. 6. The crash occurred on Nov. 8.
FHP's traffic homicide investigation report for the Ybor City crash says Carrasco "declined to participate in a sworn, recorded interview."
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the City of Tampa both tell the I-Team they do not comment on pending litigation.
Sampson remains in jail without bond, facing 60 charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all.
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Kylie McGivern works tirelessly to get results for the people of Tampa Bay. Her reporting has exposed flaws in Florida’s corrections system and unemployment process. Reach out to Kylie and our I-Team if you need help holding state leaders accountable.
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