Hillsborough deputy heads to rehabilitation nearly a month after suspect intentionally hits him with vehicle

TAMPA, Fla. – The Hillsborough County deputy who remained in the hospital nearly a month after a suspect rammed his vehicle into him and another deputy headed off to rehabilitation on Tuesday.

Courtesy: The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Corporal Carlos Brito was transferred by Hillsborough Fire Rescue from Tampa General Hospital to where he will begin rehabilitation, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. In a social media post, the sheriff’s office said, “we are grateful tonight to see Corporal Carlos Brito on his way down the road to recovery.”

Brito was one of two deputies who was intentionally struck by Ralph Bouzy in an incident Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called an ambush. Both deputies were critically injured in the crash and rushed to the hospital with severe leg injuries.

Courtesy: The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

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The other deputy who was injured, Manuel Santos, suffered a broken leg which officials said required surgery. He was wheeled out of Tampa General Hospital after his discharge Saturday, November 11. Santos described the incident as the “scariest moment of my life.”

Courtesy: The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Brito faced a much more difficult road to recovery following the incident on November 9. Officials with HCSO originally feared that Brito’s injuries would require a leg amputation.

As for the suspect, Bouzy remains in jail on three counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, but this wasn’t his first run in with law enforcement.

MORE: ‘Scariest moment of my life’: Hillsborough County deputy released from hospital after being run over by car

Courtesy: The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Back in 2015, he attempted to ram his car into a deputy’s vehicle during a hit-and-run incident. Later in 2017, during another hit-and-run crash, he attacked a police officer during his arrest.

Later that same year, his family called police after they feared for their lives after he attacked two family members. Records show his family told authorities they tried to get him help for his mental health issues, but Bouzy refused to take his medication.

In some of his criminal cases, Bouzy entered into a pretrial intervention program rather than facing jail time. Records show other charges were dropped.