A Tampa woman survived being hit by a car this month in what deputies are calling a deliberate attack by her own boyfriend. The man, 28-year-old Levi Stevenson, now faces an attempted murder charge. Investigators say the two had argued, and that he ran her down with his vehicle as she walked away. She was taken to the hospital but is expected to recover.
Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office were called to East 138th Avenue on June 12 after a woman was struck by a car, Fox 13 reported. She was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. As detectives looked into it, they say they learned the woman and Stevenson, her boyfriend, had been in an altercation. When she tried to call for help, according to investigators, he forcefully took her phone away.
Detectives say that as the woman walked along the side of the road, Stevenson veered off the roadway and seemingly, allegedly, hit her with his car on purpose. Then, he simply drove off. Deputies spent the next few days tracking him down and ended up arresting him on June 15. By then, the case had become an attempted murder investigation with a lot more moving parts.
Stevenson was charged with attempted second-degree murder and robbery by sudden snatching, the latter tied to taking the victim’s phone. The county sheriff, Chad Chronister, praised the woman for getting herself out of a dangerous situation, only to be attacked anyway. “A moment of anger should never cost someone their life,” he said. Stevenson is presumed innocent unless and until the case is proven in court.
What Do the Charges Mean?
An attempted murder charge means prosecutors believe Stevenson deliberately tried to kill the woman, even though she survived. The second-degree version of the charge usually applies when an act is deadly and reckless or driven by malicious intent, rather than coldly planned out in advance. Using a car as a weapon is part of what takes a domestic dispute to that level.
If convicted, the suspect will be met with some serious prison time in Florida.
The second charge, robbery by sudden snatching, is the legal term for grabbing something directly from a person. In this case, it’s the victim’s phone. It might sound minor next to the rest, but it matters here for a specific reason. Investigators say the phone was taken at the exact moment the woman was trying to reach help. Taking that lifeline is treated as its own crime, so what came after is considered an additional charge.
Why Leaving Can Be the Most Dangerous Moment
Advocates who work with domestic violence say the period when someone tries to leave or call for help is often the most dangerous of all. An abuser losing control may escalate quickly, and that pattern shows up again and again in cases like this one. Cutting off a victim’s phone fits the same logic, since it isolates them and blocks any call for help. What looks like a single violent moment usually comes at the end of a longer buildup.
In this case, the woman lived, and the man who allegedly tried to kill her is in custody awaiting his day in court. Not every story ends that way, which is why awareness of these warning signs matters. Anyone who feels unsafe with a partner can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, which offers free, confidential help around the clock. Walking away, as this victim showed, takes real courage.