---
title: "Florida Man Adjusts Radio, Crashes Off a 50-Foot-Tall Bridge in a Chevy Camaro"
description: "The promised autonomous driving revolution can't come soon enough for some people—like the subject of today's entry in the Florida Man chronicles, a distracted driver who lost control of his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro convertible while adjusting the radio, launched off the side of a highway bridge, and plunged fifty feet to the street below."
date: "2018-04-20"
modified: "2018-04-23"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/20284/florida-man-adjusts-radio-crashes-off-a-50-foot-tall-bridge-in-a-chevy-camaro"
categories:
  - "Chevrolet News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Camaro"
  - "Chevrolet"
  - "Chevrolet Camaro"
  - "Coupe"
  - "Crash"
  - "distracted driving"
  - "Florida Highway Patrol"
  - "Florida Man"
  - "highway"
  - "sports car"
---

# Florida Man Adjusts Radio, Crashes Off a 50-Foot-Tall Bridge in a Chevy Camaro

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/04/dbkaz_vxkaaars9-copy.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The promised autonomous driving revolution can't come soon enough for some people—like the subject of today's entry in the [Florida Man chronicles,](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/18469/florida-man-blames-stuck-gas-pedal-for-95-mph-highway-dash>) a [distracted driver](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/9615/distracted-driving-is-a-symptom-of-our-dangerous-addiction-to-garbage>) who lost control of his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro convertible while adjusting the radio, launched off the side of a highway bridge, and plunged fifty feet to the street below.

[According to the *Tampa Bay Times,*](<https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/FHP-Distracted-driver-plunges-more-than-50-feet-off-I-275_167482867>) the unofficial *Dukes of Hazzard* impression began when 61-year-old Thomas Highhouse took his eyes off the road to mess with the stereo in his 'Maro while driving down Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg. Highhouse "failed to maintain control of the vehicle," as the Florida Highway Patrol clinically put it, hit an embankment in the median, and soared into the air like a majestic bird.

https://twitter.com/_/status/986992909038833666

But since what goes up must come down, [the Camaro](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/17964/lead-chevy-camaro-engineer-wants-a-sub-7-minute-nurburgring-lap>) fell approximately fifty feet to the street below, much to the surprise of passing drivers. Fortunately, it landed on a grass-covered shoulder and came to a stop without striking any other cars, and Highhouse somehow walked away without a scratch.

Highhouse [spoke to *WFLA News*](<https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/driver-survives-horrific-crash-off-i-275-in-st-pete/1129994528>) at the scene of the accident, though he was reportedly too embarrassed to talk on camera. He told the reporter that he glanced down at the radio for a few seconds, and when he looked back up he realized he was speeding towards the center divider. Unable to recover in time, he launched into the air for a brief but terrifying flight during which he concluded he was definitely going to die.

https://youtube.com/embed/orpnaL_RtJU

Thankfully, he survived. He points to his seat belt as the reason, which should kind of be a given at this point in time. But since he escaped injury, the Florida Highway patrol felt free to add a little insult and cited him for careless driving.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)