St. Pete traffic stop to wreck claims 1 life, sends 6 to hospital
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – What began with a traffic stop on U.S. 19 South ended in a multi-vehicle wreck that injured six people and claimed one person’s life Saturday.
For reasons unclear, before 3 a.m., the driver of a Toyota Camry had drifted off the highway’s southbound lanes, hit, and then went over a median. Once the car came to rest, an Florida Highway Patrol trooper tried to pull over the Camry driver, IONTB said.
The Camry driver disobeyed FHP and drove away, prompting a pursuit that was terminated when the motorist struck a Toyota Tundra pickup truck and box truck, both of which were stationary waiting at the red light at 38th Avenue and 34th Street North.
Authorities said the reason the Camry driver hit those vehicles was because they were trying to avoid striking a semi-truck (traveling east) and turning onto 34th. The tractor-trailer (not hit) appeared to have been undamaged, and its driver was spared from physical harm, while all four Camry occupants, ages 18 to 20, and the box truck and Tundra driver and passenger were all sent to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
At the medical facility, one of the Camry occupants had succumbed to fatal wounds.
FHP does not publicly announce the names of people involved in collisions, but confirmed that the Tundra driver was a 46-year-old man from St. Petersburg and the box truck operator, a 33-year-old man from Davenport.
Troopers said the Tundra passenger was a 73-year-old adult but did not state their age or their gender.
In addition, FHP did not state the age and gender of the Camry occupant who passed away and is working to sort out which of the individuals were the driver.
The investigation is in its early stages. As it stands, there have been no announcements made of criminal charges or citations.
Updates will be posted as our new developments arise.
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