Crime & Safety

Valrico Man Assaults Passenger, Crashes at Brandon Car Lot, Deputies Say

Varance Hibbett, 33, caused $57,000 in damage at Axiom Motors on Brandon Boulevard after deputies say he started punching a female passenger while he was driving.

A Valrico man assaulted a female passenger while driving and then crashed into several cars at a Brandon Boulevard dealership Monday night, TBO.com reports.

According to the news site, Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies say Varance Hibbett, 33, was driving a gray Chrysler 300 eastbound on Brandon Boulevard around 10:45 p.m. Monday, May 23. Witnesses told authorities he was punching a 39-year-old Tampa woman and grabbing her by the hair when she tried to get out of the vehicle as Hibbett was driving.

According to TBO:

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Witnesses said they heard the couple screaming and heard him yell, "I'll kill you!"

Hibbett then struck two vehicles driving on Brandon Boulevard before hitting a light pole and six parked cars at , 329 E. Brandon Blvd., according to deputies.

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Hibbett fled the scene on foot, deputies said, but was caught about 500 yards away. The female passenger received injuries to her face and mouth in the crash, TBO reports.

Total property damage at Axiom is estimated at $57,000, according to the report.

Hibbett is charged with battery; leaving the scene of a crash with injury; leaving the scene of a crash with property damage; resisting an officer without violence; three counts of DUI with property damage; and DUI with injury.

He is being held in Hillsborough County Jail on $11,250 bond.


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