counties. @early vote @early voting in hillsborough @and pinellas county ends on @sunday. @and of course the florida @primary is this tuesday, march @15. @>>> 8:10 the time. @st. pete police have found the @the drive-by shooting that sent @a toddler to the hospital. @the dodge challenger that @pulled up at a home on 10th @avenue south in st. pete on @thursday. @the car was found abandoned @around 11:00. @the car was reported stolen on @monday. @forensics unit looked over the @car for evidence. @someone inside that challenger @open fired hitting a 3-year-old @open fired hitting a @3-year-old, kayla mack in the @stomach. @sitting on her grandmother's @front porch. @another man was shot and @treated and released from the @hospital. @his condition is not known but @the little girl is expected to @be okay. @no arrests have been made in @the shooting. @>>> 8:11 is the time. @he spent 340 days in space, now @scott kelly will enjoy his time @on earth. @two weeks after returning to @earth, kelly announced that he @is hanging up his space suit. @nasa announced his retirement. @the h

@this involved a hillsborough @county deputy. @both the deputy as well as that @wrong-way driver have both died @wrong-way driver have both @died. @the deputy at the hospital. @the wrong-way driver at the @scene there. @>> walter: the information we @got from hillsborough county @sheriff's office is that this @deputy whose name is not being @released right now, they are @working to notify the family, @but this deputy was on the @force for about five and a half @years. @he was trying to become a @homicide detective, a traffic @homicide detective, and if you @look at these pictures here, @these are very telling. @just how serious, how violent @this crash was. @larry mckin then with the @sheriff's office describe this @scene as something from war, @like an ied explosion. @and when we look at these @pictures, it certainly looks @exactly like that. @so, again, to reiterate, a @deputy has been killed. @kelly cowan is on scene and is @working to bring us more @information. @>> anjuli: the eastbound lanes @shut down at this hour and are

hillsborough county supervisor of elections doesn't think voters will have to wait long at the 348 voting sites in the county. why? well, more than 25% of registered voter, only democrats and republicans in the florida primary, have already voted by mail or gone to an early voting site to cast their ballots. more than 133,000 ballots have been submitted in hillsborough county as of yesterday. and if some people have had a change of heart, well, he says, tough luck per florida law. listen here. >> there is no do-overs. once your ballot is cast, either in my office or an early vote site, that's it. >> reporter: more that be 2,000 poll workers will be onhand in hillsborough county today to make sure things run smoothly. machines and ballots have been checked for tapperring. this is another -- tampering. this is another live like. polls open at 7:00. -- live look. polls open at 7:00 a.m. and they close at 7:00 p.m. tonight. anyone in line at the closing hour will still get to vote. and make sure you bring your photo id. >> yeah, we have taken calls here at the news center and people say, i vo

pre-election polls will close late this afternoon in all bearing area counties except hillsborough and pinellas. those counties will end tomorrow. locations and times, check them out on our website at abcactionnews.com. >>> four years we've heard doctors praised the health benefits of what they call good cholesterol. >> a study claims it may be bad for you. just as risky as smoking. one potentially deadly side effect of good cholesterol, >>> we are moving on to the hulk hogan sex tape trial. a witness testified for hooking saying web traffic soared after gawker.com posted the video. the expert said it increase the company's value by about $15 million. attorneys for walker say that figures are artificially inflated. hogan, whose real name is terry bollea, is suing the site for $100 million. he spoke to action news after yesterday's testimony. >> of course it's embarrassing but, human beings, people make mistakes. i need to get up and move on. >> the judge is weighing whether local radio host, bubba the love sponge will be called to testify. that decision could come as early as monday. >

@deadly crash out of @hillsborough county. @a wrong-way accident on the @crosstown expressway that sent @serious expect. @>> anchor: we have a reporter @on the keen. @kelly cowan is on the scene and @waiting for the press @conference expected to start up @any moment now. @let's head out there right now. @the press conference is about @to start. @let's see what is going on. @>> the driver who was driving @the wrong way was killed @instantly and our deputy was @where he expired. @the -- this is early in the @investigation now. @we are not going to release any @names at this point as we get a @hold of the families of both -- @of both drivers. @>> reporter: can you explain @exactly where this happened. @which way the wrong-way driver @was going? @>> yes, the driver apparently @may have gotten on -- right @down the road from us at this @point and going westbound while @the flow of traffic was @eastbound and had begun enter @eastbound and had begun @entering -- was up on entering @an elevated portion of the @expressway. @and our dep

but life at hillsborough county is a world of extremes. another young man confined here faces the possibility of never seeing home again. >> all i have to do is use this time as best i can and hope i get out. >> 19-year-old kendrick morris was found guilty on two counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon. he is awaiting sentencing. prosecutors are asking for 120 years. >> a young lady was simply going to the community library. and was -- she was assaulted, drug behind the library, beaten within an inch of her life, and brutally raped. >> after morris had been taken into custody for the library attack, authorities connected him to another assault that had occurred ten months earlier. >> he'd actually been the assailant in another rape of an elderly day care worker. >> morris was also convicted of that crime and is now in jail awaiting sentencing. he still claims he's innocent. >> they say anything else, armed robbery or something like that, maybe i probably will say i'm capable of it. but rape, no. attacking a girl, no. hitting a girl,

hillsborough county fire sent us this picture from the scene. there are several businesses in this complex... including the one you see here... "kitchen ality" a cabinet store. it's still not clear if the fire was *in that business, or just nearby. fire crews say the fire is out but they'll be on scene for awhile, investigating. 3 3 developing in pinellas park: a popular restaurant will probably *not be opening for breakfast. it suffered serious damage... from a fire. investigators are still trying to find out what sparked the fire at the "kozy korner" restaurant. that's on 110th avenue in clearwater. rescue crews arrived to find heavy smoke and say it started in the kitchen. the business was closed at the time. firefighters contained the fire... and kept center: again no one was inside the building at the time. firefighters say there is significant damage. the restaurant *normally opens at six a-m... but that likely *won't happen today. 3 3 developing in hillsborough county: three deputy cruisers are damaged... after they rushed to stop a wrong

but at hillsborough county, they spend their shifts on the floor in the open.a system known as direct supervision and it has been proven to reduce violence in other problems by allowing deputies to build a rapport with the inmates. >> if you like dealing with people, this is a great place to work. i love dealing with people, that's why my degree is in sociology. >> but pressey and every other deputy in the jail knows that violence can erupt suddenly, as an incident two years earlier dramatically illustrated. a 64-year-old deputy was working at his desk in the housing unit just as inmates were finishing lunch. suddenly, inmate douglas burden rushes him and puts him in a potentially fatal choke hold. as several other inmates jump into the fray, one of them reaches in and grabs the deputy's radio. >> the radio call that came across was unlike any other, because it wasn't a deputy signal. the inmate stated "emergency, 911," and deputy moon was on the floor being attacked by mr. burden. >> deputy lorie garcia was among those who responded. >> there were a number of

both have been serving time in the hillsborough county jail.recently had a court date and expected to be released on probation. >> i don't know if he's been released. i put him down for visitation. because he told me to put him down for 2:00 today. i'm so excited. >> i know. i'm so excited, too. >> i know i'll be so crushed if he doesn't come. i'll probably cry if he doesn't show up. just because i didn't know what happened. you know? >> waiting for you right now. i'm nervous for you. i'm excited. >> the visit is even more important than katie knows. chad plans on breaking some life altering news. >> i want to tell her face to face that i came up positive for hepatitis "b" and "c" and she needs to go to the clinic in jail. >> both chad and katie know that any number of factors could prevent their visit from happening today. >> it could mean he's not released yet or couldn't make it here. i mean, he doesn't have a car, so i mean, if he doesn't show up it's probably just he's not released. that's about all i can think of. he won't just blow me of

@we want to get to that @developing story out of @hillsborough county. @sheriff deputy john catfilla @has been killed by a wrong-way @driver. @it happened on the selmon @expressway around 3:00 this @morning. @the driver who hit the deputy @is also dead. @kelly cowan has been following @this all morning long. @kelly, you are standing in @front of the entrance ramp on @to the selmon. @they are diverting traffic. @where is traffic going? @>> reporter: they are diverting @normally you will be able to @get mere if it was a weekday @morning. @through the weekends they have @this closed. @it was closed last night when @that wrong-way driver would @have ent everyed. @they have the do not enter sign @they have the do not enter @signs up. @these arms marked with lights @warning drivers not to get on @the selmon expressway here. @we are told that as deputies @investigate this crash, the @selmon expressway heading west @is closed right now. @that should be open shortly, @but it haven't been opened @already; however, the eastbound @lanes are expected to be closed @fo

the tampa bay community continues to mourn the tragic death of a hillsborough county deputy. we're live with the latest. you can soon take a cruise to cuba which cruise line announced the new service. your sunday forecast and much more coming up in the next half hour. . >> take a look as the sun begins to come up over tampa bay. you're looking at the hillsborough river. . i'm candace mccowan. thank you for joining us. this it is time to check in with mark for the latest on our hi, mark. >> good morning candace. we have changes in the forecast. the dry weather we've had here over the past several weeks will give way to rain showers here. not until later in the day. we're starting out warm and as we look westward over the gulf of mexico, you see the clouds. they have rain and that rain will be in here probably after lunch time. let's show you right now on st. pete beach. it is 71 degrees but that rain is 150 miles off of the coast. it will take time to get here and the forecast is calling for the best time for rain late this afternoon around 3:00. rain chances will increase to

the hillsborough county jail consists of two sprawling facilities located four miles away from each other. combined they can house close to 5,000 inmates. most of the men and women here have recently been arrested and have not been convicted of a crime but are awaiting trial or settlement of their cases. some inmates have been convicted but are serving short sentences. usually less than two years. either way, time here is no vacation. >> jail is a pretty awful place. this is by no stretch of the mile some kind of spa. you're here for a reason and you have to make the best of a bad situation when you can. >> 31-year-old sheree dean is trying to do just that. dean is serving the last 30 days of a 6-month sentence for cocaine possession. she says she developed an addiction from a lifestyle that included working in strip clubs and prostitution. >> i started out being a topless stripper. i was like, oh, my god, i would never dance nude, i would never do that. then i started dancing nude and started meeting customers for money. it's like a whole lifestyle. i always worked at high-end clubs and

the hillsborough county jail is actually comprised of two sprawling facilities with an average daily population of more than 3500 men and women. >> falkenroad jail is somewhere between 135 acres. it has housing for up to 34 inmates. it takes a little bit to get from one point to another so we like to utilize golf darts. depending on where i'm going and what my function is if i have to be there in a hurry, i use the cart. it's smarter. if i'm going two housing units down, i'll usually walk and get some exercise. >> four miles away is the orient road facility where up to another 1700 inmates can be housed. both facilities are run by a former secret service agent determined to bring the experience he learned guarding a vice president to the job of overseeing thousands of inmates. >> traveling around the world with vice president cheney really taught me more than anything a lot of the self-discipline qualities that i need to succeed here, and much of what i learned there helped me in running the jails. we run a pretty orderly operation here. the inmate behavior is not to a level that cau

. 10news reporter emerald morrow is live at the hillsborough county sheriff's office law enforcement memorial in ybor city. emerald, there's already been an outpouring of support for deputy john kotfila and his family. -yes, it's amazing how deputies rally keep each other lifted up in times like this. - right now.the flags here are at half-staff - and flowers lay at the feet of this fallen heroes memorial in honor of deputy kot-fee-lah.. ...who lost his life early saturday morning during a terrible head-on collision on the selmon expressway - what makes this especially sad is...sheriff's officials say he had just left tampa general hospital after investigating a crash when a wrong-way driver on the selmon hit him - not only that...but as a traffic accident investigator...deputy kot-fee-lah spent his days working on the very thing that killed him. - he had been with the sheriff's office for six years...and was just 30 years old ones will mourn not just a man who lost his life too soon.but a man who gave six years of his life serving and protecting others.but the funeral is going to be

. >>> our top story, honoring a hillsborough county deputy who gave his life in the line of duty. a wrong-way driver hit and killed deputy john kotfila. in a few minute, we will show you his family and friends plan to say good-bye. >>> right now, polk county deputies are searching for a man they say ststole a car from a mulberry pharmamacy with a toddler inside. this happened while the e child's care taker was inside the gone. the carjacker abandoned the car with the child still in it. anyone with information is urged to call the polk county sheriff's office. . >>> in a few day, the president havana. anticipation for their arrival the island. take a look at the things you can find, funny, shirt, flag, magnets and buttons all over the place. >>> it is 4:31. let's get a check on weather with leigh spann. some rain in forecast. >> that's right. not so much today but as we head through the comiming day, we begin to increase the rain chance. notice clouds at this point. and just like what happened yesterday, most of the rain is going to stay to the north. and if we get a shower or two,

. >>> a hillsborough county deputy is being remembered as a hero. a witness who saw the wrong-way crash who killed deputy john kotfila beliefs he was acting as a human shield to save her life. >> the officer rushed around me and one or two seconds after he passed me, he ended up hitting the car instead of me. >> the funeral for deputy kotfila is scheduled for friday. >>> well today polk county's a workshop. sales on sunday. right now in the county, you can't buy beer, wine or alcohol until noon but in the city of lakeland, you can buy alcohol on sunday before noon. today's meeting will look at making things more consistent throughout the county. >>> leigh, looking at fog coming into the area? >> yeah, we haven't seen a lot on land at this point. but over the next two to three hour, we're going to the see the fog develop. this is how far you can see. and right now, not too bad. by 6:20, we start to see the numbers get lower meaning the the visibility goes down because the fog gets thicker and the thickest fog will happen around 8:00, 9:00 this mornin

>>reporter: flags here are at half staff at the hillsborough county sheriff's office. in memoriam of the fallen deputy. deputy kotfila was returning from tampa general hospital after completing a crash authorities tell us 31-year-old aerik mcbeth of hudson began driving the wrong way on the brandon exit. eagle eight hd captured video of the scene west of the i-75 exit where the two cars collided. this has been an emotional loss for the department which deputies describe as one big family. >> i think it is highlighting a bigger issue between distracted driving and dui. at this time of the night, there is a lot of people that have been consuming colic beverages out on the road, but we need to pay attention to what we're doing on the. >> we're told all traffic control warning signs and signals were up and running, alerting drivers that the entrance was closed to westbound traffic. deputy kotfila comes from a law enforcement family. we're told his father and brother were both police officers up in massachusetts. that is where he was born and raised. deputy kotfila was on t

it shows a fight between students at a hillsborough county school. includes at least one parent. and that's's where she has a major issue. newsws channel 8's josh thomas joining g us live from hillsborough school board headquarters t this morning. josh, a lot of questions right now. >> reporter: yes, certainly a lot of questions and we are certainly asking those questions of both the school and the hillsborough county sheriff's office. and now the video happened at east bay high school in gibsonton. let's look at the video right now. the nasty fight broke out and involved multiple people. it w was captured on video at that school in gibsonton. in the video, you can see punches were thrown by the student bus mother of one of the boys told us it wasn't a fair fight because of the man you see in the black shirt. she claims he's s the father of one e of the other boys. she is seen slamming her son to the ground and she wants to know why he is not facing any charges. >> to me, you know, i see all the time where parents are arrested for jumping into but at the fight on school grounds. >

a few light showers in citrus, pasco and hernando county and be parts of pinellas and hillsborough county drifting east, northeast, a few sprinkles in polk county. pretty quiet in our southern areas as it has been much of the day. overnight tonight we'll see most of those showers gradually dissolve and end. a bit of a resurgence possible early tomorrow morning. so for the morning commute we could see a few more showers, maybe even an early morning thunderstorm, warm morning, temperatures around 70. by afternoon it dries out a bit, only a 10% chance for an afternoon shower with partly to mostly cloudy skies and warm temperatures tomorrow, right around 80 degrees. tuesday morning a bit of fog to start the day. by afternoon we're looking at sunshine, beautiful day, high of 81 degrees. this is march 13th, the anniversary of a big storm, the we had 12-foot storm surge back in 1993 on this date. we had wind. we had tornadoes. as the storm moved north, it produce the 10 inches of snow in atlanta. -- produced 10 inches of snow in atlanta. as it moved farther north, it produced 43 inches of snow i

hillsborough county wants drivers finger printed and their criminal record checked interationally... the county would also be alerted if they get an infraction..the same requirements taxi and school bus drivers must meet.."we want the public to have the services that they're demanding, but we want it done in a way where it's fair and 3 3 commissioners also voted to continue a lawsuit against uber for operating illegally...but they're dropping their suit against lyft. they say lyft is willing to work with them to meet safety standards. but they claim uber is not willing to budge.. it's unclear exactly how the county plans to police the services next week. 3 3 and now... to the fight for florida. the race to the white house... could once again hinge on voters here in the sunshine state. our primary next week is considered the *biggest prize of the primary season. so it's no surprise... all the candidates have been coming to town. 3 and today... *both democratic candidates will be stopping in tampa. their events are just a few hours apart. hillary clinton is speaking at the ritz in ybor

deputy is a sobering reminder of how dangerous it can be. >> the hillsborough county sheriff's office service like many wonders why it's happening. >> is it roadway flaw, too much consumption? >> he's worked many crashes and numbing. say every weekend. you're getting an alert of a wrong way driver in this area. these deputies and officers are dispatched to the area but sometimes they're already gone. >> cancela wouldn't say where she was or what she was doing prior to her wrong way incident. >> hush. >> reporter: we put in a request with the tampa police department to look at any a public information officer told us they are reviewing those videos and could release them as early as later today. in tampa, i'm chip osowski, news channel 8. >> thank you, chip. this incident happening just a week after a wrong way driver took the life of hillsborough deputy john kotfila. the deputy's hearse was escorted to tampa international airport on sunday morning. his body was flown back to massachusetts, his home state. the hillsborough county sheriff's office honor guard gave kotfila one fin

turnrns into the veterans expressway here in hillsborough county. whatever you want to call it, it looks good. you may be calling it something later as we run into rush hour but not right now. we do still have an accident here in pasco, congress closed between pine hill and ridge. scoot over and use rowan roroad, aka regency park as the best alternate route. >> thank you. >>> tataking emojis to the e next level. >>> and an important recall for pet owners. up next, the device that mamay be dangerous to your fish. aquarium owners. those using top thin power filters need to hear this. hundreds of thousands are being recalled for shock hazards. so far, no i injuries to people have been reported. the e models were sold exclusively atat petsmart. >>> the geneva auto show always boast spectacular cars with mind-boggling price tags. they are nice to look at it. it can reach speeds of 260 horsepower. get this, it cosost $2.6 million look. that's about it. >>> the emoji craze has not slowed down and with a new proposal in place, you could be using them more.

news channel 8's adrienne hillsborough county sheriff's office this morning. and adrienne, clearly, this is a deputy who impacted so many people. >> reporter: good morning, gayle. that is exactly right. we just keep hearing that over and over again. and of course we know that he meant a lot to the people here at the hillsborough county sheriff's office. but some of you might be wondering why massachusetts? well, the kotfilas not only shared a last name but also a love for law enforcement. kotfila's father is a massachusetts state police sergeant and a former town police officer. one of his brothers is currently an officer there. and that's why the funeral mass today will be at st. patrick's catholic church in massachusetts. you just have to take a look at this touching video. you can see the support the family is truly getting from that community. people lining the streets and holding flags as the hearse goes by. and now back here in the bay area, family and friends said good-bye in lutz. and now you will remember, kotfila died in a head-on crash with a wrong-

it shows a fight betweeeen students at a hillsborough county school. one mom tells us it also and that's where she has major r issues. nenews channel 8's jojosh thomasas is live from hillsboroughgh county school board headquarters this morning. josh, a lot of questions right now. >> reporter: we certainly are asking a lot of questions of both the school and the hillsborough county sheriff's office. and now this fight happened at east bay high school in gibsonton last month. let's take a look at the video. the nasty fight involved several students and was captured on video at a school in gibsonton. in the video, you can see punches thrown by the student bus mother of one of the boys told us it wasn't a fair fight because of the man you see in the black shirt. she claims he is the father of one of the other boys. he is seen slamming her son to the ground and she wants to charges. >> to me, you know, i see all the time where parents are arrested for jumping into fight, you know, not only were they at the fight, they were at the fight on school grounds. wi

i mean, very light, very spotty and over the bay and into hillsborough county. and look farther out in the gulf of mexico and that's where we have some of the heavier downpours i expect to come onshore later. and that's why i kept in the 20% rain chance starting at about 7:00 this morning. a half hour from now and this morning. if it's not raining on you, it's very warm, low to mid-70s this afternoon. and after lunchtime when the spring training games are going on, the rain chance will be coming down. phillys and orioles, 78 degrees. lakeland, mets and tiger, 80 degrees. and in fact, over the next couple days, we stay near 80. 80 through friday before we trend cooler into early next week. we will check in now with traffic on the 8s because man there's a lot going on. people need to be careful. >>> what a way to kick-off the week. and not only that, but apparently it's wet too. i saw raindrops on the howard franklin bridge. let's get to out here. lutz right now, they are doing and this is u.s. 41 where they have lanes closed, crenshaw lake road also known as whit

final good-byes to a hillsborough county deputy killed on the job. he saved a life but ended his own. deputy john kotfila tragically die when had a a wrong-way driver hit him on the selmon expresswsway. today family, friends and colleagues will honor him. right now, flags in hillsborough county are at halflf- staff to remember the fallen hero. josh thomas joins us live from lutz. josh -- >> reporter: good morning, adrienne and gene. well, funeral services for deputy john kotfila will begin here at st. timothy catholic church in lutz later today. now the deputy, of course, died in the line of duty last weekend on the selmon expressway. and now according to a witness, deputy john kotfila drove his cruiser into the path of a wrong-way driver to prevent that car from hitting other cars that were going in the right direction. the deputy and the wrong-way driver both lost their lives in the crash. deputy john kotfila is remembered by his fellow law enforcement officers as a man who wanted to make a difference. >> john made us better. he made this program b

. >>> a hillsborough county hero. a witness when saw the wrong- way crash that killed deputy john kotfila explains why she believes he was acting as a human shield to save her life. >> and the officer rushed around me and one or two seconds after he passed me, he ended up hitting the car instead of me. >> the funeral for deputy kotfila is scheduled for friday. >>> well beer, wine and liquor, the sale of alcohol in polk county is up for discussion later this morning in the county commission. businesses in the county want to sell booze for longer hours on sundays. right now in lakeland, alcohol sales are permitted starting at 7:00 a.m. but polk county businesses have to wait till noon. minutes but first, let's get a check on the weather. leigh, you're tracking fog this morning. >> yeah, watching a lot of fog in the gulf of mexico and it's beginning to spread inland. the most is in sarasota county, now just a quarter mile visibility in the very thick following over the sunshine skyway bridge. and starting to see it in pi

wasn't more damage or no light poles were hit in this crash, candace. >> mary mcguire live in hillsborough county. on to wfla.com or download our free news channel 8 app. >>> our top stories this morning. get ready to vote. today. weekend. hillsborough, miami-dade and broward will keep the vote's the primary. march 15th. >> i think the combination of super tuesday election results, the last two debates, together, has been more and more unifying republicans behind our campaign and that is a very, very encouraging sign. >> that is one guy feeling good this morning, words from senator ted cruz after winning kansas and maine caucuses. they were strong victories to add to his super tuesday success in texas, oklahoma and alaska. >>> don't drive drunk. that is the message from florida highway patrol. f.h.p. is ramping up enforcement officials say there are more dui citations given out in march than any other month. last year there were 32,000 crashes across the state in march and they ended in 35 deaths. >>> investigators are searching for the person who tried to burn down an apartment building in tampa

but here in hillsborough county, election workers have been gearing up for the day for a longtime. >> there are nearly 350 polling sites in the county. and 8 on your side's ryan hughs is live at one of them on dale mabry highway this morning. ryan, you say the poll workers are starting to trickle in. how is it going out there? >> reporter: gayle, good morning to you. that's right, poll workers trickling in here for precinct 135 here in hillsborough county. they are making sure the machines and ballots are ready for the voters who can pick their presidential favorite beginning at 7:00 this morning. the hillsborough supervisor of will have to wait long at any why? well, more than 25% of registered voter, only democrats and republicans in a florida primary, have already voted by mail or gone to an ballots. more than 133,000 ballots in submitted as of yesterday. and if some people have had a change of heart when it comes to their favorite since then, listen here. >> there is no do-overs. once your ballot is cast, either in my office or an early vote site or election day, that's it. there

you can vote in hillsborough county from 10 a am until 6 pm today. more than 152,000 people have already voted and 63% of the ballots were malin and 37% cast of the bills. pinellas county, 103,000 people voted early and 95% are male and and 5% cast ballots in person. early voting is open in pinellas county. >>> we have all locations posted on abc action news.com. if you don't cast her ballot today you will have to wait until tuesday. bring a form of id like a drivers license. >>> check out this intense video. we uncovered this. this is spring break in miami beach. a large crowd moved from the beach onto ocean drive and there were several small fights . staff was thrown at cars. a few people arrested. -- police able to clear the >>> the indycar race season kicks off here in the bay area. the firestone grand prix big finish is this afternoon. the verizon indycar series gets the green flag before 1 pm. before that the second lights race is this morning. final race is set for 4:30 pm. a heads up, security is bumped up so expect metal detectors creating ba

. >>> a change ofof venn view for the hillsborough county -- change of venue for the hillsborough county special olympics summer games. >> our school really does care about helping these kids and allowing them to express their talents and abilities. >> reporter: senior matthew rule started volununteers his freshman year but the relationship between jesuit high and the hillsborough special olympics goes back much higher. is but now it's happening at jesuit. it's tradition that their fathers join in to help at the event. >> it's moving for the dads to watch their sons sort of grow up before their eyes as they walk the athletes around and interact with them. >> reporter: it goes both ways. jason stokeses is happy his dad is participating this year. >> this is my senior year and he said he wanted to be involved in what i was doing. >> reporter: working directly with the athlete, the students hope to help and inspire. >> to us, it means a lot, mostly because we're being a light to the community. >>>> reporter: but ultimately, serving. >> they realize that they others. they have had their fath

our thoughts and prayers to every member of the hillsborough county sheriff's office. corey dierdorff, abc action news. >>> breaking overnight -- a man is shot in the leg but that shooting now is creating more questions than answers for officers. officers say the victim is not being very cooperative. they found him on west francis avenue but he apparently was shot some place else. paramedics arrived soon and took him to the hospital. police say he's not saying where or even when he got shot. so if a nobody's in custody. >>> dozens of people in a pasco rv park have their personal information at risk. deputies say a thief broke into the barrington rv park in hudson over the weekend. that burglar stealing a safe that had credit card information for about 80 people living at that rv park. detectives are now urging the victims to monitor their credit card activity and anyone with information about this burglary is asked to call the pasco county sheriff's office. >>> new this morning, we're waiting on an autopsy to find out exactly what caused the polk county suspect to die

we also know that some of those hillsborough county deputies are in massachusetts right now. they'll be attending that funeral today and just looking at social media, looking at the police account as well as the hillsborough county sheriff's office account, there are so many touching tributes. i'll retweet some of those this morning so you can check those out. and of course we will have coverage for you starting at first at 4:00. >> he impacted a lot of lives. thank you so much, adrienne. this morning, eight st. petersburg man was busted not -- morning, an 8 on your side alert, a st. petersburg man was police officer. ryan, a quick-thinking driver wasn't tricked by the suspect though. >> reporter: gene, good morning to you. she was driving along u.s. 19 here in largo when she first noticed the vehicle hot on her tail. upon closer up inspection, she knew things didn't light up. >> there was one sole light. cops don't do that. lights. >> reporter: she was right. police tell us that it was a 35- year-old driving a 2007 nissan altima. impersonating a cop. and when he left, largo

. >>> our top stories on this friday morning, flags in hillsborough county are at half- staff as family and friends of deputy john kotfila come together to say their final good-bye. his funeral service is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. in lutz. you will remember john kotfila was kill bid a wrong-way driver last saturday. >>> eight people are getting g help from the red cross after a fire at an apartment building in tampa. someone living there was working on electrical wiring sparked overnight in the attic. thankfully everybody is okay. >>> and closing arguments in the hulk hogan sex tape trial are scheduled to begin today. terry gene bollea, he is suining gawker for $100 million. the website published a sex tape showing him with the ex- wife of a tampa-based radio personalty. >>> more on that story y and others in a few minunutes. but we want to check on ththe weather as we head into the weekend, leigh. >>> temperatures are maybe in some places a degree or two cooler. 60 in brooksville. down to 58 degrees in zephyrhills. still well above average but cooler than yesterday. 65 bartow. 61

this is the busiest wanted hillsborough county. there is no plans to increase security because polling places like this one are safe. i asked about voting machines. each part has been inspected several times to make sure it is ready and the large crowd of voters that will be joining your. the biggest thing you want to pay attention to is to make sure you choose a candidate that hasn't already dropped out of the race. 30 republicans and 13 democrats . only four still in the running for republicans and 2 democrats. they will still be on your ballot. if you vote for them it will be former favorite candidate back into the race. to throw. if you come here between 8:30 am that is the least busiest time. if you come at lunch or before after work, that is the busiest time. 10 news. >>> gop front runner donald trump. he will not be indicted after a violent encounter after one of his rallies. this video from a rally net -- last wednesday. there is not enough evidence to charge pump for inciting a riot. trump said he does not condone balance.

a very tough morning for deputies and hillsborough county. they are putting the flags at half staff at the fallen officers memorial and ybor city. this is a list of all of the deputies and their stories who have died in the line of duty here and hillsborough county. deputy kotfila will have his story on the small. investigators piecing together by 31-year-old erik mcbeth was driving westbound in the eastbound lane of the selmon expressway. to the speeding and hit caught felis patrol car head-on. kotfila was well-liked. who wanted to be a traffic homicide investigator. you can imagine his colleagues were very emotional after this crash. take a listen. >> it is like losing a family member. and it drives at home to all of the deputies because it could of been his car or anyone else's car. >> for -- funeral arrangements are pending and this is the fifth wrong way down this year in the tampa bay area. what fdot plans to do coming up. for now, jake peterson, abc action news. the man driving the wrong way and the deadly crash. 31-year-old erik mcbet

will be releasing more information later this morning. 3 3 deputy "john kotfila is the sixth hillsborough county sheriff's deputy..to be killed in a car crash while on duty.. outside the hillsborough sheriff's office - the memorial for him is growing. 3 kotfila was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver early saturday morning on the selmon expressway... the other driver is "erik mcbeth".. from hudson. they believe mcbeth drove around warning signs and barriers..to enter the wrong direction kotfila was a six-year veteran. funeral plans have not yet been announced.. but the sheriff's office says a memorial could take place later today. 3 3 just one more day until the political spotlight shines on florida. the campaigns are heating up...with the primaries quickly approaching. and republican frontrunner donald trump will be in tampa today. 3 police are preparing for supporters and protestors to gather around the convention center...where trump will be speaking. and sarah palin will be there too.. as fox13's 'aaron mesmer" tells us, she's trying to help trump pick up some more steam...and more votes. 3 "s

abc action news reporter ashley yore is live at the hillsborough county county supervisor of elections office breaking down why our state is the big prize. >> reporter: it's winner take all when it comes to the delegates on the republican side. not that same sweep for the democrats but still could be a good indicator of who the nominee will be. let's talk democrats first. hillary clinton expected to win florida but voters deciding 214 delegates that can be shared between clinton and bernie sanders. and many of the primary voters today are women, clinton has shown a strong lead over sanders with women. sanders has said that even if to continue on in the race. now on to the republicans. it's winner take all when it comes to delegates. marco rubio has even said this week whoever wins florida is going to be the nominee. here's what the political expert we spoke with says about the 99 delegates up for grabs. >> if donald trump beats marco rubio by one vote in florida he gets all 99. now, you need a little over 1,200 delegates to win your party's nomination. so, if you win florida you're nom

. >> a major marijuana trafficking bust in hillsborough county to tell you about tonight. detectives concluded a yearlong investigation called operation hydro hustlers. chip osowski says there were nearly a dozen grow houses in hillsborough and surrounding county being shut down. >> reporter: good evening to you jenn, this investigation began in march of 2015. even seasoned investigators big this drug ring was when the investigation initially began with grow houses like this one scattered all over hillsborough county. and elsewhere. including citrus, fernando, pasco, polk, and swanee counties. the sheriff explained how sophisticated the operation was run by one julio alvarez. >> he is from miami. he has been operating out of a house in the carolwood area right next to a school and a church. >> reporter: coordinating county wide grow operations like the one you see here. this is video provided by the sheriff's office. you can see the extensive wiring for high powered grow lights. within the past week, deputies started making arrests. more than 20 people now facing numerous c

, ashley yore, abc action news. >> if you would like to vote but need a ride, hart buses in hillsborough county and scat buss in sarasota county will let you ride for free today. just show your voter id card. >>> it's a crucial day for ohio governor john kasich who said he would drop out of the race if he doesn't win in his home state. a new poll puts kasich ahead of donald trump in ohio but as you know it's a neck and neck race and trump told supporters in tampa yesterday if he wins both florida and ohio the race is he heckled kasich further last night. >> kasich cannot make america great again. can't do it. >> donald trump and some of his rhetoric, at these rallies, that i just read yesterday was the first time i read them, is atrocious. it is not the mark of a leader of the united states of america. i am deeply disturbed by what i've read. >> yesterday 2012 republican nominee mitt romney joined kasich on the campaign trail trying to sell voters on the governor in order to stop trump from winning the nomination. >>> we're going to cover the florida primary. our crews are spread out all across

. >>> the tampa bay community continues to mourn the tragic death of a hillsborough county deputy. we're live with the latest. you can soon take a cruise to cuba still ahead, which cruise line announced the new service. your sunday forecast and much more coming up in the next half . >>> good sunday morning. i'm candace mccowan. thank you for joining us. for the latest on our forecast. >> hi, candace. it is a balmy start to our sunday morning. temperatures have been hovering around the 70-degree mark and there is rain in the forecast. it won't be a wash out but it will be cloudier here as we head through the course of the day and then expect midday showers and even some thunderstorms when you're looking at the numbers right now, you see the humidity on the high side and the radar is fairly quiet. there have been light rain showers tracking up along the i-10 corridor. nothing showing up in the immediate bay area the forecast for today calls for rain so if you're going up to the valspar championship for professional gulf, you can expect cloudy conditions and expect to see rain at any

hillsborough county told the person to pay up or they will foreclose. >> code violations are really nothing new to this woman. that is an understatement. >> the county has been flipping its gums at brenda owings for 18 years but nothing has happened. she has ignored code violation fines totaling more than 548 grand but if she doesn't pay the $60,000 bill for clearing her property, the county says she could lose it. >> what do you want? >> hi. i want to know if you received a letter of demand from the county. >> reporter: she was not in a good mood. i wouldn't be either if i got a bill from the county along with a demand letter for $60,000. it is a bill for the removal of tons of trash and junk that the county hauled away from her property. >> are you going to pay that money? >> go talk to them. >> reporter: bob mullens contacted us saying she stocked her property with everything including a school bus. our investigation discovered she ignored code violations, ran up more than $300,000 in fines, and the county let it drag on for 16 years. >> she knows she can get away consequences. >> report

come monday your commute along one of the busiest roadways in hillsborough county will be a complete nightmare. u.s. 41 will be closed so the florida department of transportation can work on the railroad crossing near crenshaw lake road in lutes. delays and detours along the six-lane roadway could take twice as long and that has residents very angry. >> that impact with that traffic on those roads, there's kids, vehicles, safety, police, all those, the delay in time is going to hurt someone. around this work zone using florida avenue, beers avenue and dale mabry highway. u.s. 41 should be closed about two weeks depending on the weather, of course. >>> hulk hogan's $100 million sex tape trial continues tomorrow morning for a second week. gawker will begin presenting its witnesses then. friday experts testified about the value of this tape. an expert for hogan claimed the video brought gawker its highest number of views ever and brought value to the company because of it. meanwhile hogan says the trial has been more than difficult and it's been wrestling andre giant in the ring also ma

hillsborough needs about 50. and right here in pasco county, they need 30-plus. for john, driving a school bus is more than a job, it's a privilege. >> we're the first people that they see in the morning and the last people they say in the day. we have to encourage them. these are our future children. we need to encourage them. >> reporter: in pasco and hillsborough county, you need a clean driving record and arrest record but also -- >> you need to enjoy kids. working with kids is really the best part of the job. >> reporter: hillsborough and training programs that will help you get your license to drive a bus. in pasco pay starts at $12 and you receive district medical the transportation department says there's room to move up. >> they don't have to remain a driver forever. they can follow career path, become driver trainers or relief drivers. they can move into supervisory positions. >> it's not a complacent job. it's an advancement job. >> reporter: she plans to continue for many more years. >> it takes patience, yes. but it's more rewarding in the sense of y

hillsborough county we're get the dash cam video showing a close call for an officer when a wrong way driver nearly hit him. look at the screen, this is the woman police arrested. her name is asia cancella and she's out of jail this morning. they say she was driving the wrong way on i-275 and showed signs of impairment. officers say she was speeding this time yesterday morning in the same lane as the patrol car. the officer was behind the wheel heading home from his shift and swerved out of the way to avoid the crash. other officers later tracked her down at busch boulevard as she exited in the wrong direction. >>> just last weekend in hillsborough county a wrong way driver claimed the life of deputy john kotfila jr., on the selmon expressway near brandon. we brought you full coverage of his funeral this past weekend. fdot is installing a series of signs and lying in hopes of preventing these types -- lights in hopes of preventing these type of crashes again. >>> several families are home out this weekend. fire crews headed to killian street in spring hill last night. turns out an und

. >>> our top stories on this friday morning, flags in hillsborough county are at half- staff as family and friends of deputy john kotfila come together to say their final good-byes. deputy kotfila was killed by a wrong-way driver last saturday. >>> eight people are getting help from the red cross after an apartment fire in tampa. someone is was working on sparked overnight in the attic. thankfully, nobody was hurt. >>> closing arguments in the hulk hogan sex tape trial are set to begin today. terry gene bollea better known to us as hulk hogan is suing gawker for $100 million. the website published a sex tape showing him with a radio personalty's wife. >>> we will have more in a couple minutes but t we want to check on the weather. >> good morning. as you head out the door, it's quite mild. even 71 in st. pete. and we have patchy clouds. but what i want to draw your attention to, from citrus county north, there's a lot of rain. for r the most part, that rain is going to stay to the north today. we will hit about 81 degrees. only a 20% rain chance. that's abobove obviously the average of

county. moving toward tampa and your bridges, connecting pinellas and hillsborough, no problems here on the courtney campbell, howard franklin or gandy. and good morning pinellas county, u.s. 19, the arch nemesis, well, i'm happy to report, it looks fine, we are accident-free throughout the bay area. gayle, candace, back the to you. >> thank you. >>> an 8 on your side alert this morning about a troubling incident in polk county. parents, you're going to want to talk to your kids about this one. law enforcement is looking for a middle-aged man driving a car that approached a young girl as she walked home from school. news channel 8's lindsey mastis is following this story for us center. lindsey, what exactly happened? >> reporter: well, gayle, this is very scary, especially for parents and kids. the polk county sheriff tells us an 11-year-old girl got off the bus and started walking home when a car pulled up and her to get in the car with him. he told her, your mom is in the hospital and she sent us to get you. luckily, the girl ran away. this happened around 4:00 in the afternoon. the girl got off t

a car crashed into an office building in hillsborough county. we offered women a mystery beauty treatment. what made their skin more radiant? what?! wait! only dove has 1/4 moisturizing cream. smooth dewy skin. dove, your daily beauty >>> we continue to follow breaking news out of hillsborough county. a car crashed into a law office building near brandon. a live report next. >>> plus a big night for senators ted cruz and bernie sanders, picking up wins in two states on super saturday. the latest on the race for the white house is coming up. >>> good sunday morning, i'm candace mccowan. we'll get to our top stories in a moment but first let us check on the weather forecast.

now the hillsborough county sheriff's office honor guard gave deputy kotfila one final salute. >>> a hit and run crash left a homeless woman in pasco county critically injured. the highway patrol tells us the woman was hit by a truck on palm grove drive at us 301 last night. the driver never stopped. that truck is described as way white four door ford f150 or f250. anyone with information is please asked to call the florida highway patrol. >>> tonight ntsb investigators caused a plane to crash at the airport on davis islands in tampa. two people died in a fiery crash late friday morning. eyewitnesses claim they watched as the pilot tried to avoid another plane that was taking off at the same time. >>> we'll be right back with your forecast for the week. >>> two 13-year-olds are expected to face charges for stealing a car and crashing it. the teens slammed into a traffic light pole at u.s. 19 and darlington road in pasco county at 4:15 a.m. this morning. it's believed the two may be run-aways. the girls found the car unlocked with the key inside. both girls were injured but should surv

. >>> but first caught on camera a fight at a hillsborough county high school with at least one parent involved. tonight only on 8 one mom has questions about why a dad got involved in the first place. that mother's son was suspended three days. the two kids accused of beating him up now face criminal charges, but the mother's big her son to the ground. paul mueller joins us now live in tampa. paul, tell us more about this. >> reporter: the mother telling me tonight that it definitely wasn't a fair fight. she said another father actually man handled her son, but did he much? was he just protecting possibly his -- did he? was he possibly protecting his own child. fists were flying, punches thrown, a high school beatdown caught on camera. the alleged target, the kid in the blue boxers here at east bay high school in gibsonton. tiffany doby, the boy's mother, has serious concerns about the guy in the black t-shirt. she said he's the father of one of the kids. you could see him push one kid ground. >> to me i see all the time where parents are arrested for jumping into fights, not only wer