Teen Driver Smashes Two Cars Then Flees

SPRING HILL - Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested two reckless drivers in the span of 30 minutes Tuesday, including a teenager who reportedly smashed two cars near Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard.

The trouble started at 6 p.m. when a westbound car making a right turn from Spring Hill Drive onto the campus of Pasco-Hernando Community College was rear-ended. The colliding car, driven by 19-year-old Jay Conner, kept going, according to FHP.

Conner apparently made his escape on Linden Drive and at the Mariner Boulevard intersection he struck a southbound car, a report states. Conner continued west and was next seen turning north on Lindsay Drive, where extensive front end damage to his car caused him to leave the road and strike a chain link fence, a report states.

Conner and his 15-year-old passenger made a run for it, but deputies caught up with them at a skate shop on Spring Hill Drive, a report shows. Conner was issued a misdemeanor citation for marijuana, reportedly found in his pockets, and charged him with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident.

Meanwhile, 15 minutes later, a motorist reported that a reckless driver in a 1993 Toyota was in the area of County Line Road and U.S. 19. Trooper Jim Johnson spotted the car and flipped on his emergency lights, but the driver, Christopher Kazakowitz, continued east on County Line Road towards Mariner Boulevard, a report states.

A few minutes into the pursuit the Toyota's engine blew out and Kazakowitz, 29, slammed on the brakes in an attempt to have the trooper rear-end him, according to FHP.

Johnson swerved his car and struck the left rear of the Toyota. No one involved in the crash was injured. FHP described Kazakowitz as "belligerent" and said he broke the rear window of the patrol car with his fist.

Kazakowitz received several stitches for his injuries at Spring Hill Regional Hospital and was then taken to the county jail on charges of DUI, driving on a suspended license and criminal mischief.