Sheriff: 11-Time Convicted Felon Hits Florida School Bus While Fleeing Traffic Stop

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A traffic stop that began with something as ordinary as malfunctioning brake lights spiraled into a chaotic flight from deputies, a collision with a middle school bus and a cache of weapons and drugs, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies pulled over a silver Kia Forte about 4:36 p.m. Sept. 23 on West Hillsborough Avenue, just west of North Dale Mabry Highway. Body-camera video released by the sheriff’s office shows a deputy telling the driver that both brake lights were out.

The driver, identified as 54-year-old Tonnetta Evans, told the deputy she had recently replaced a bulb and needed to “wiggle it” to get it working, according to the sheriff’s office. When asked for identification, authorities said, she handed over an ID bearing the first name Kirsten.

Deputies then developed probable cause to search the Kia and tried to remove Evans from the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.

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Video shows deputies asking Evans to step out. She refused, authorities said. As a deputy opened the driver’s door, Evans put the Kia in drive and began moving with the deputy partially inside the car, according to HCSO.

Moments later, the Kia struck a school bus carrying 41 students from Pierce Middle School, along with the bus driver and a bus aide. The sheriff’s office said the crash happened before deputies could begin a pursuit based on the aggravated battery.

No students were injured. The bus suffered minor damage, and the students were moved to another bus and taken home.

Deputies eventually took Evans into custody near the Howard Avenue and Armenia Avenue ramp to southbound Interstate 275.

Photo: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

The sheriff’s office said a search turned up what it described as a pipe bomb or explosive device, brass knuckles, an electric weapon, a bandolier of shotgun shells, identification and credit cards belonging to other people, $1,100 in counterfeit $100 bills, coins, methamphetamine, marijuana and prescription pills.

HCSO also released an X-ray image of the cylindrical object it called an explosive device. The image showed numerous small, dense objects inside the cylinder.

Authorities said the Kia had been reported stolen in Kentucky in 2022. Photos released by the agency showed multiple license plates among the recovered property. Evans was charged with attaching a tag not assigned.

She faces charges including aggravated battery on a law-enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, armed possession of methamphetamine, aggravated fleeing to elude, battery on a law-enforcement officer, felon in possession of ammunition, and felon in possession of an electric weapon or device, HCSO said.

Additional charges include giving a false name to a law-enforcement officer, possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, three counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, unlawful possession of the personal identification of another involving five or more, tampering with physical evidence, attaching a tag not assigned, and leaving the scene of a crash involving a school bus.

Evans was also arrested on a Kentucky failure-to-appear warrant for possession of methamphetamine and theft of identity of another without consent, according to HCSO.

The sheriff’s office said Evans is a three-time Indiana State Prison releasee, a nine-time convicted felon in Indiana and a two-time convicted felon in Kentucky. Her criminal history in the two states includes escape, burglary, burglary of a vehicle, identity theft and narcotics offenses, HCSO said.

The case highlights the unpredictable risks deputies face during traffic stops and the potential danger to the public when a driver flees, particularly when a school bus is nearby. It also underscores how a low-level traffic violation can quickly escalate into serious felony allegations.

All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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