Unlucky Crash Leads To Lucky Break For Graduating Tampa Senior

TAMPA, FL — Quintin Montgomery knew he was in big trouble the instant after the crash.

Not only had the 18-year-old Jefferson High School student rear-ended a vehicle on Interstate 4 on May 27, a day before his high school graduation, but the vehicle he ran into happened to be a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office cruiser.

But what Montgomery thought was the unluckiest day of his life turned into a lucky break for the high school senior.

Although neither Montgomery nor the driver of the sheriff's cruiser, Sgt. Kara Vance, were injured, Montgomery braced himself for a good chewing out and possibly a ride straight to jail.

"I was panicking," he said. "A lot of stuff was going through my mind."

To his surprise, the lecture and the handcuffs never materialized. Instead, Vance emerged from her patrol vehicle to make sure Montgomery wasn't injured. She then comforted and assured him he wasn't going to jail.

Vance said she knew he hadn't been speeding or been distracted. He was simply caught off guard when traffic in front of him suddenly came to a halt.

"I was able to come to a fast stop, but I saw a car in my rearview mirror that just wasn't going to be able to make it in time," she said.

When Cpl. Andrea Davis arrived at the scene to investigate, Vance told her, "This young man is just not having a good day."

While waiting for traffic deputies to clear the scene, the sheriff's sergeant and corporal reassured Montgomery. Before they parted ways, Montgomery invited them both to his high school graduation.

"I wasn't sure they were actually going to come to my graduation," he said. "When they pulled up, I thought, 'Oh.'"

It was an invitation Vance said she couldn't pass up.

"This is what we do," she said. "This is what we live for - those tiny moments when you make a little bit of impact on someone's life."