Reckless driver gets trapped in burning vehicle

BAYOU GEORGE — A woman who allegedly was driving while intoxicated was injured Saturday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash on U.S. 231.

According to Master Sgt. J.D. Johnson of the Florida Highway Patrol, two motorists reported a reckless driver to the FHP moments before Tiffany M. Pitts, 32, of Fountain, crashed a 2004 Cadillac in a wooded area off U.S. 231 north of the Penny Road intersection.

Pitts was traveling south at a high rate of speed when the vehicle began to swerve, Johnson said. The Cadillac entered the median and Pitts overcorrected across the southbound lane. The car left the road and overturned when it hit a water-filled ditch. It stopped on its side in some woods.

Pitts was the only person in the car. She   was not wearing a seat belt and was trapped inside when the car caught fire, Johnson said.

Panama City Fire Rescue extinguished the blaze and cut Pitts from the vehicle. She was taken to Bay Medical Center with a broken neck.

Johnson said Pitts was charged with driving under the influence, having an open container in the car, not wearing a seat belt and careless driving.