TAMPA, FL — After nearly a month of calling a room at Tampa General Hospital home, Hillsborough County sheriff’s Cpl. Carlos Brito left the hospital Tuesday with his wife at his side and an entourage of well-wishers waiting at the front entrance of the hospital.
Still unable to bend his legs that were severely injured when he was run down, Brito, 39, was brought out of the hospital on a gurney and placed in a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue ambulance for the trip to a facility where he will undergo months of rehabilitation.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said Brito has a long road to recovery, but doctors are more optimistic than they were on Nov. 9 when the corporal’s legs were crushed between a Nissan Altima driven by 28-year-old Ralph Bouzy of Brandon, who was having a mental health crisis, and Brito’s sheriff’s vehicle.
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At one point, surgeons at the Tampa General Hospital trauma center requested that deputies retrieve a piece of Brito’s femur bone that was caught in the front grill of his sheriff’s vehicle.
Chronister said surgeons were discussing the possibility of amputating Brito’s leg.
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“Cpl. Brito is still in the recovery process and there is no determination yet on if his leg will be saved,” said Marco Villarreal, public relations coordinator for the sheriff’s office. “It’s a long road, and everything is being done to get him back to where he once was. We continue to ask the public for prayers.”
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Deputy Manny Santos was also pinned by the Brandon man’s vehicle. He, too, suffered critical injuries, including a bilateral break in one leg. He underwent multiple surgeries before being released from Tampa General last month.
After striking both Brito and Santos with his car, Chronister said Bouzy “nonchalantly” got out of his car and began walking toward his mother’s home on Dexwell Court in Heather Lakes in Brandon.
He ignored commands from deputies to halt and was finally brought down by stun guns shot by two of the deputies at the scene, said Chronister.
“Because of this man’s deliberate and intentional actions, their lives, and their family’s lives, are changed forever,” Chronister said.
Deputies were originally called to Bouzy’s mother’s house on Nov. 9 at 7:44 a.m. after she called 911, saying her son was behaving violently and she feared for her life.
When Brito and Santos arrived at the house, they said Bouzy was in his car but refused to speak to them and drove off. He returned just minutes later, at about 8 a.m., and “deliberately accelerated and aimed his car, violently colliding with both deputies” who were standing about 10 feet from their sheriff’s vehicles, the sheriff said. Santos and Brito attempted to dive out of the path of Bouzy’s car, but were unsuccessful.
“There is no other way to describe this other than an ambush,” said Chronister. “Our deputies put their lives on the line every day to protect this community, and what happened today makes me absolutely sick.”
Chronister said Bouzy has a history of mental problems and an arrest record that includes three felonies and 14 misdemeanors.
Bouzy faces three counts of attempted murder of law enforcement officers. Other charges may be added later, the sheriff said.
Brito has been with sheriff’s office since 2013. Santos joined the sheriff’s office in 2019.
Chronister said he’s relieved that both of his deputies are out of the hospital, although they have months of rehabilitation and possibly more surgeries ahead of them.
“Our wonderful partners at Hillsborough County Fire Rescue took great care of Cpl. Brito as they transferred him to where he will begin his rehabilitation,” Chronister said. “He is a fantastic example of resilience and determination to move forward in this long and arduous process.”
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