PCSO: Suspect fatally shot, deputy hospitalized

A Polk County deputy fatally shot a suspect Friday night after the man rammed his patrol car, Sheriff Grady Judd said.

At about 9:30 p.m., a white male went to his grandmother's house in the Oakwood Estates neighborhood off of Spirit Lake Road in Winter Haven.

The man then hit her with the vehicle, knocking her to the ground, Judd said. She was taken to Lakeland Regional Hospital and her condition was unknown.

The suspect then fled the area.

As the deputy was searching for the home where the incident occurred in his patrol car, the suspect "drove directly at and T-boned one of my deputies," Judd said.

"As soon as he rammed our deputy's vehicle extremely hard, he [the suspect] jumped out. There was a confrontation and the deputy shot the suspect," Judd added.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

The deputy was being treated at a hospital for injuries he received after the confrontation.

Judd said the information was preliminary and subject to change.

More information might be released sometime today, Judd added.