Thread: Pasco deputy involved in head-on crash upgraded to fair condition

By Eddie Daniels | Tribune Staff Eddie Daniels
Published: January 2, 2014 | Updated: January 2, 2014 at 05:15 PM

WESLEY CHAPEL — A Pasco County deputy involved in a head-on car crash early Wednesday morning in Wesley Chapel has been upgraded to fair condition at a Tampa hospital.

Pasco Deputy Darren R. Hill, 29, of Wesley Chapel, suffered two broken legs in addition to a broken arm and had to be airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa. At the time he was in serious condition, which has since been upgraded.

His parents, Cathy Pollard and Gerald Hill, rushed to Tampa from their homes in Tennessee to be by his side. “He looks so much better than he looked last night and so much more relaxed now that they have fixed some of his bones and muscles,” Pollard said. “They’re not causing him so much pain...We anticipate a full recovery.”

They described Hill as a gifted computer programmer and video game designer who chose a career in law enforcement. He left California and moved to Florida to go through the police academy with his older brother, David, who also hopes to join the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.

“He’s always wanted this his whole life,” Gerald Hill said.

Hill underwent the first of what could be several surgeries Thursday, his mother said. The family was surrounded by several of Hill’s law enforcement colleagues as they addressed the media in the rain outside of St. Joseph’s . They said he has no memory of the accident, which occurred at shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday, when Hill was driving his patrol car west on State Road 54 near Loury Drive in Wesley Chapel, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Bertin Jaimes, 25, of 5230 4th St., Zephyrhills, was eastbound in a 2002 Ford F-150 when the truck crossed the center line of the road and struck the cruiser, troopers said.

The head-on collision caused Hill to be trapped in the wreckage. The deputy, whose two-year anniversary with the sheriff’s office is Jan. 9, was unable to speak following the crash, but did activate an emergency signal to alert other deputies.

Pollard said it was a miracle Hill survived the accident - he had just filled his gas tank - and that none of his fractures broke the skin. “It could have been a fiery mess,” she said.

A registered flight nurse, she gave props to the first responders from Pasco County Rescue 16. “Good call on the airlift,” she said.

Jaimes was arrested about seven hours later at his father-in-law’s house and charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury, driving with an expired license and driving left of center.

Paperwork inside Jaimes’ truck led troopers to a Land O’ Lakes address where Jaimes was found about 11:30 a.m.

Four others were also arrested and charged with obstructing the investigation.

“Thank you to FHP and all law enforcement agencies that made sure the investigation went forward and the sun did not go down before the cold, callous and uncaring were removed from off the street,” Pollard said.

Jaimes’ wife, Gladys Patricia Soto, 24, of 4747 6th St., Zephyrhills, told deputies she didn’t know of her husband’s whereabouts when questioned by deputies and said she did not pick him up following the crash, according to an arrest report.

She later said she lied because she was scared, the report said.

Soto and her father, Raymundo Soto, 54, who lives at 9811 Pangola Loop, drove to pick up Bertin Jaimes after the crash, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. Once at Raymundo Soto’s home, he told Jaimes he should turn himself in, deputies said.

Soto originally told deputies he was not aware of the incident or where Jaimes was located.

Raymundo Soto and Gladys Soto were released Thursday after each posted a $150 bond.

Jose Carmen Jaimes, 29, the brother of the suspect, and his wife, Jazmin Sanchez Aguirre, 21, were also arrested.

Jose Carmen Jaimes remains in the Land O’ Lakes Jail and is on hold for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while his wife also remains in custody and being held for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

Bertin Jaimes also remains in the Land O’ Lakes with no bond. He also is being held for INS.

http://tbo.com/pasco-county/pasco-de...tion-20140102/

Jaimes’ wife, Gladys Patricia Soto, 24,

I wonder why she operates under a different name and if she receives welfare benefits under Soto. The crash was New Year's Day at 4AM

Zephyrhills driver arrested after head-on crash with Pasco deputy

Deputy Darrin Hill was injured in a head-on crash on Jan. 1. PASCO COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

Published: January 1, 2014 | Updated: January 1, 2014 at 01:48 PM

A 25-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a head-on crash with a Pasco County deputy’s cruiser early today, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Bertin Jaimes, of 5230 4th St., Zephyrhills, is charged with felony leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury, driving with an expired license and driving left of center. He was arrested at 11:30 a.m. at 9811 Pangola Loop in Land O’ Lakes, the FHP said.

Sheriff Chris Nocco said Deputy Darren R. Hill, 29, of Wesley Chapel, has two broken legs and other injuries, and was airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.

Hill, who is in serious condition, will mark his second anniversary as a deputy on Jan. 9.

The Pasco sheriff also reported that there are three people in custody for obstructing the investigation:* Gladys Patricia Soto, 24, of 4747 6th St., Zephyrhills. She is the wife of Jaimes.* Jose Carmen Jaimes, 29, brother of the suspect.* Jazmin Sanchez Aquirde, do21, of 5414 4th St., Zephyrhills, the wife of Jose Jaimes.

About 4:22 a.m., Jaimes was eastbound in a 2002 Ford F-150 on S.R. 54 toward Loury Drive when the truck crossed the center line of the road and struck the marked 2011 Chevrolet Impala cruiser of Hill head-on, according to a report from the highway patrol. The crash left Hill trapped in the wreckage.

Nocco said the deputy could not speak after the crash, but was able to activate an emergency signal to alert other deputies.

The Pasco Sheriff also wants to thanks the other law enforcement agencies that assisted in the investigation: FHP, Hillsborough and Pinellas sheriffs offices, Zephyrhills Police Department, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
http://tbo.com/pasco-county/pasco-de...rash-20140101/