The incident occurred when a 2021 Mercedes reportedly collided with the Florida Highway Patrol Dodge Charger in a construction zone in Collier County, according to a statement from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP).
The FHP confirmed that the trooper sustained minor injuries in the crash and was subsequently transported to a nearby hospital. While the agency did not directly identify Cawthorn as the driver of the Mercedes, a video posted on social media by a passerby on Monday afternoon showed a man resembling the former congressman in his wheelchair at the crash site.
The social media user who posted the video claimed that the driver of the Mercedes had been driving aggressively and "tailgating her relentlessly" just minutes before the collision with the state trooper's vehicle. Although she did not witness the crash itself, she reported seeing the officer exiting his vehicle while clutching his neck. "I spoke to the cop to see if he was okay as he was quite stunned & kept reaching for his neck," she wrote.
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The FHP identified the driver of the Mercedes as a 28-year-old male from Cape Coral, Florida. This description aligns with Cawthorn's age and place of residence. Furthermore, the driver was reportedly wearing a distinctively patterned and colorful shirt that Cawthorn has been seen wearing in his social media posts.
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The driver was cited for violating Florida’s "Move Over" Law, which mandates drivers to change lanes or significantly reduce speed when approaching stopped emergency vehicles. The penalty for such a violation can range from a $60 to $158 fine. An official accident report has not yet been released and is expected to be made available in the coming days.
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Cawthorn, who represented a district in western North Carolina in the U.S. House, lost his reelection bid in 2022 to former state Senator Chuck Edwards. His campaign was marred by several legal and political controversies. In March 2022, he was pulled over for driving left of the centerline and charged with driving with a revoked license, a charge that was later dismissed, according to WLOS TV station.
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In April 2022, Cawthorn faced further legal trouble when he was cited for carrying a loaded firearm at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a fine, as reported by the Charlotte Observer. This was not his first offense of this nature; he was previously caught attempting to pass through security with a firearm at Asheville Regional Airport in February 2021.
Cawthorn's conduct also came under scrutiny following a report by the Washington Examiner in April 2022, which suggested that the first-term congressman could be implicated in insider trading related to a cryptocurrency he had promoted. This led fellow Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis to call for an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. The committee found evidence of Cawthorn violating House ethics rules and imposed a fine, as reported by McClatchy.
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A decade ago, Cawthorn was seriously injured in a car crash near Daytona Beach while returning to North Carolina from a spring break trip to Florida, resulting in partial paralysis. As of Tuesday morning, Cawthorn could not be reached for comment regarding the recent accident.
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