Crime & Safety
DUI Suspect Who Left 7-Year-Old Behind is Caught in Largo
The Madeira Beach man left the scene of two crashes Thursday night, deputies say, and in between dropped off a 7-year-old child passenger in the middle of a roadway.
Updated: The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is now identifying the suspect in Wednesday's DUI crashes as 41-year-old Grant Everett Mulder of Madeira Beach. An earlier report listed a different first name.
His booking photo from the Pinellas County Jail has also been released (see attached).
Earlier:
A Madeira Beach man is behind bars after authorities say he crashed into a telephone pole and left the scene, dropped a 7-year-old child passenger off in a median, hit two more cars and took off again Wednesday night.
Deputies eventually caught up with 41-year-old Brent Mulder — who faces a litany of charges, including DUI, child abuse, driving with a suspended/revoked license and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage — at 113th Street and Ulmerton Road in Largo.
When Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies arrested Mulder and placed him in their cruiser he also tried to kick the windows out, they said.
The sheriff's office initially responded around 10:10 p.m. Wednesday, when Mulder reportedly struck a telephone pole at 131st Avenue and Pelican Lane in Madeira Beach with his 1998 Toyota 4Runner.
A witness to the accident said the vehicle's airbag deployed, hitting the 7-year-old girl, whom authorities said "is known to the suspect" but was not identified further.
When the witness approached the car in an attempt to help the girl, Mulder drove away with her still inside, deputies said.
He then drove to Duhme Road and the Tom Stuart Causeway, where he left the girl in the median and drove away, according to the sheriff's office. Another witness there called 911.
Mulder then made his way north on 113th Street to Park Boulevard, where he allegedly struck two more vehicles that had been stopped side by side at a light. Deputies say Mulder tried to pass between them when he struck them from behind, backed up, went around them and continued north.
The two drivers, an 18-year-old Seminole man and a 21-year-old Pinellas Park woman, were treated at the scene for minor injuries and later drove themselves to a local hospital.
Deputies eventually stopped him at 113th and Ulmerton and placed him under arrest and took him to the Pinellas County Jail.
His booking information and mugshot were not yet available Thursday morning.
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