Fleeing car slams into St. Pete home

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - After a vehicle fled from a traffic stop, it ended up crashing into a St. Petersburg home, deputies say.

Pinellas County deputies said they attempted to pull the car over Thursday around 2:30 a.m., and the driver, later identified as 27-year-old Michael Amons Jr., did not stop.

Instead, they say, Amons continued driving northbound on 54th Avenue North near 71st Street and shut off his headlights. The deputy did not pursue the vehicle, the sheriff's office said, and eventually lost sight of it.

Later, deputies working in the Pinellas Park area noticed the vehicle matching the description. They say the driver ran several red traffic lights and stop signs, even exceeding 100 miles per hour with no headlights on.

Amons eventually arrived in a neighborhood on 53rd Avenue North and tried to turn at 10th Street but lost control of the Acura and slammed into a home at 5301 10th Street North.

The car crashed into a bedroom where two people were sleeping. There were a total of five people inside the home, and they were not seriously injured. There is "significant" damage to the home.

Amons was arrested after deputies say they found drugs inside the car, along with a large sum of cash.