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Fugitive In Florida Trooper Crash Caught A Decade Later

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — Authorities captured a  fugitive 10 years after he was  involved in a crash that severely injured a Florida State Trooper.

U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden says Panamanian authorities arrested Samuel Silva last week. Silva was flown Monday, June 2nd to South Florida.

Silva was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for the alcohol related crash that seriously burned the trooper. Authorities said the trooper was conducting an Interstate 95 traffic stop in April 1998 when Silva's vehicle slammed into her cruiser, causing its gas tank to explode.

Silva never showed up for prison in 2004 to begin doing time for driving under the influence and causing injury convictions. Besides Panama, authorities said he was also tracked to Puerto Rico, Spain, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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