TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A crash in downtown Tallahassee last week injured four people. Police arrested the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident.
According to police, Kenneth Chambers tried to leave the scene, but visiting comedian Se'Cory McLaurin sprang into action to keep him from getting away.
It was supposed to be another night of comedy at Bird's Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack, but what happened last Wednesday was no laughing matter.
Scott Peavy organizes a weekly open mic comedy show at Bird's. He said a group of about a dozen comics were outside the restaurant underneath the awning just before the show was scheduled to start.
"Everybody was here. Everybody was lined up, ready to go," Peavy said. "And then -- all of a sudden, we hear this major accident. We hear this huge crash."
McLaurin, a comedian from Pensacola, was in town to be part of the show. He said he saw a BMW speed down the road, T-bone a van, and hit "kids" who were on their way to Bird's. He said he rushed to the scene.
"The only thing I could think about was, 'Oh, my God. Somebody has honestly got to help these kids," McLaurin said, adding that he hopes someone would do the same if his 7-year-old daughter was in a situation like that.
Tallahassee police say the crash stemmed from a traffic stop by Tennessee Street and Adams Street. Chambers took off in his vehicle and sped away from the responding officer, who did not pursue or follow the vehicle.
Chambers' car struck another vehicle, turning it on its side, and hitting three pedestrians waiting at the intersection of Bronough Street and Virginia Street.
Witnesses say Chambers got out of his vehicle and tried to leave the scene.
"[They] chased the guy up around the building, got up on top of the building and actually, on top of this awning is where they caught the guy," Peavy said.
McLaurin said he tracked down Chambers and "squared up" with him, giving responding officers enough time to arrive and arrest Chambers.
"I really don't know what was going through my head," McLaurin said. "To me, I just felt like, 'Hey, dude. Hopefully, you didn't kill any of these people that you just ran into."
Chambers was arrested with multiple charges for the crash and the initial traffic stop. He is being held in the Leon County jail on $35,500 bond. He pled not guilty to charges Monday in Leon County court.
McLaurin said helping police arrest Chambers doesn't make him a hero or "Good Samaritan," as some witnesses have called him.
"I'm a parent. I'm human. I have compassion. I have a heart," McLaurin said, "and that's really what we need more in society today."
After helping police with the arrest, McLaurin went back to Bird's to do his comedy act. He said "the show must go on," and that the comedy that night helped witnesses deal with the incident.
