FLORIDA DEPUTY INJURED IN EARLY MORNING CRASH

A Hillsborough County deputy was hurt early Thursday morning when his cruiser was hit by the driver of another car. Investigators say Deputy Gus Garcia, 41, was parked behind a car in the southbound lane of Anderson Road at about 1:25 a.m. when the crash occurred. He was working on a traffic stop with another deputy, and he was sitting in his patrol car writing out paperwork when his car was hit from the rear by the driver of a Ford Explorer.

The momentum of the crash pushed Deputy Garcia's car into the car he was impounding from the previous traffic stop. The Explorer, driven by 32-year-old Toil Christopher Smith, overturned. Both Smith and Deputy Garcia were taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.