Two Car Crash on St. Petersburg Bridge Sends Car into Tampa Bay
On Wednesday, August 28th, commuters in St. Petersburg who were traveling along the Howard Frankland Bridge were shocked when they witnessed an accident between two vehicles that resulted in one of them, a white SUV, crashing over a barrier and into the Tampa Bay waters lying far below. According to the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue crew who responded to the scene, the events that led to the incident began at around 7:00 in the morning.
At this time, a 2006 Saturn SUV and a Ford F-150 were both traveling in the inside southern lane of the road that crosses the Howard Frankland Bridge. Witnesses to the scene reported that the Saturn appeared to be traveling excessively fast, although this report has yet to be corroborated by the authorities. Witnesses told both police and fire rescue teams that when the SUV started traveling behind the pickup truck it did so at a distance far less than appropriate. Things continued in this manner for small amount of time before the driver of the SUV changed into the center lane in order to try and pass the Ford F-150.
Apparently, the driver of the F-150 did not appreciate this maneuver and quickly changed lanes so that they were also in the center, still traveling in front of the Saturn. Once again, the driver of the Saturn changed lanes, this time moving back into the leftmost lane in order to try and pass the pickup, and once again the driver of the pickup attempted to counter this move by also changing lanes. This time, however, the driver of the pickup truck miscalculated the distance between the two vehicles. As they attempted to swing their truck back in front of the SUV, the rear of the Ford struck the front of the Saturn and both vehicles began to spin out of control.
While the pickup truck ultimately remained upright, the Saturn began to overturn. It was while in the process of flipping over that the Saturn struck the barrier wall, launched over it, and crashed into the water below.
Due to the severity and high-risk nature of the event, numerous first responder teams rushed to the crash site. Once there, the priority was to locate the SUV and retrieve anyone who may have been inside. The water in the area where the crash took place is 15-20 feet deep, and it took some time before the car was located. During this interval, no one from within the car emerged to the surface of the water.
When the car was finally located, it was empty of all passengers. The front windshield was dislocated and both the driver-side window and the passenger-side window were rolled down.
By the end of the day, it was reported that no one from the crashed Saturn had yet to be discovered.
Charges are believed to be pending against the driver of the Ford F-150.
Sources:
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.