Off-duty fire chief tried to run over cyclist: Pinellas sheriff

An off-duty district fire chief from the St. Pete Beach Fire Department is facing charges after trying to run over a bicyclist, PCSO said.

May 27, 2024, 11:24 a.m. EDT

REDINGTON SHORES, FL — An off-duty district fire chief from the St. Pete Beach Fire Department faces charges after attempting to run over a bicyclist Thursday afternoon in Redington Shores, according to a news release from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Thomas McClave, 55, was charged with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and simple battery. He was arrested shortly after 5 p.m.

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The victim, Gregory Hicks, 58, was riding his bicycle in the shared bicycle and vehicle lane south on Gulf Boulevard near 175th Avenue while McClave drove his personal pickup truck behind him.

McClave pulled alongside Hicks and yelled at him to get off the road, the sheriff's office said.

After briefly yelling at each other, Hicks rode his bicycle onto the raised median of Gulf Boulevard.

McClave followed Hicks in his pickup truck, intentionally driving on the raised median and nearly hitting the cyclist, who had to swerve, the sheriff's office said.

He got out of his truck and approached Hicks, pushing him twice in the chest and knocking a cell phone, which was being used to record the incident, out of the cyclist's hands, deputies said.

McClave has been employed by the St. Pete Beach Fire Department as a district chief since November. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail.