Florida man Patrick Scruggs — a former assistant attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa — went berserk Tuesday morning, repeatedly stabbing a man with a pocket knife. The 35-year-old gentleman then attempted to stab two other people, who got away. He and his victims had been involved in a car crash on the Howard Franklin Bridge.
His stabbing spree sent one person to the hospital with serious injuries and caused major delays for hours on the bridge. (See news video below, posted by 10 Tampa Bay.)
From WTSP:
During their investigation, troopers said they learned a 35-year-old man had stopped in the travel lanes and was slumped over for an "unknown reason" inside his car. Then, a 40-year-old man driving along the bridge saw the man slumped over and looking unwell, so he and his wife stopped their car in front of him to see if he was okay, FHP said.
The 40-year-old couldn't get inside the 35-year-old's car, so he went back to his car in order to find something to break the window and help him. Before he could do that, however, troopers said the 35-year-old man came to and started driving forward.
But rather than getting back on the road and on his way, troopers said the 35-year-old first hit the couple's car, then reversed and tried to go around, only to crash into Scruggs' car as he drove past the incident.
Troopers say Scruggs stopped his car, got out, went up to the 35-year-old's car, broke the window and began stabbing him multiple times with a pocket knife.
The couple, still at the crash, rushed in to help the 35-year-old, but Scruggs reportedly tried to stab them, too, according to FHP. The couple was able to get away without being harmed.
Needless to say, Scruggs, who had been with the U.S. Attorney's office for nearly 11 years before joining an Atlanta law firm in May, is now without a job. He was "charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and burglary of an occupied conveyance," according to WTSP, and was "booked into the Pinellas County Jail."
Front page thumbnail image: 10 Tampa Bay
