Monday, February 18, 2013
The man was driving a 1999 Chrysler van at a high rate of speed on Lakeview Rd. around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, when he lost control of the van west of Prospect Ave, according to City of Clearwater Public Safety Spokesperson Elizabeth Watts
Investigators with Clearwater Police are trying to identify the driver of a van who was killed in a fiery crash Sunday evening on Lakeview Rd and Shore Ave. The man was driving a 1999 Chrysler van at a high rate of speed on Lakeview Rd. around 9:30 p.m., when he lost control of the van west of Prospect Ave, according to City of Clearwater Public Safety Spokesperson Elizabeth Watts. The van went off the road and hit a fence and power pole guy-wires, then hit a tree and burst into flames. Clearwater Fire Rescue put out the fire. The van's driver was found deceased inside the burned vehicle. Identification of the victim could not immediately be made because of the condition of the body.
Monday, January 28, 2013
A van was headed northbound in the southbound lanes of Belcher Road in Clearwater when it crashed into another vehicle, officials said.
Two people were injured, one seriously, when a van headed the wrong way on Belcher Road crashed head-on into another vehicle Sunday night, authorities said. A 1995 Dodge van was headed northbound in the southbound lanes of Belcher at Sunset Point Road just before 7 p.m. when it ran into a Nissan Pathfinder, according to Clearwater public safety spokesperson Elizabeth Watts. Both vehicles suffered heavy damage, and the driver of the van, 51-year-old Bonnie Blanchard, had to be extricated by Clearwater Fire & Rescue personnel. She was airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg with serious injuries, Watts said. The driver of the Pathfinder, Demetrios Lianidis, 31, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital and treated for minor injuries…
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Robert Henry Raymer Jr., 54, of Holiday was killed in the Dec. 12 crash when his pickup truck was hit by a stolen BMW driven by Jonathan Peter Bytautas, 29, of Clearwater, authorities say.
The Clearwater man who authorities say was driving a stolen BMW that caused a deadly crash on Curlew Road back in December is now charged with one count of vehicular homicide. Jonathan Peter Bytautas, 29, was arrested Wednesday, Jan. 23, following his release from St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, according to Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Steve Gaskins. Bytautas was transported to the Hillsborough County Jail with bond set at $250,000. Bytautas had been hospitalized since the Dec. 12 crash, which happened around 5:30 a.m. at the intersection of McMullen Booth and Curlew roads in Palm Harbor. FHP Investigators say Bytautas was driving a 2008 BMW 550i when he ran a red light on McMullen Booth and crashed into a Chevy pickup driven …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
A Clearwater man in a BMW ran a red light at the intersection of Curlew and McMullen Booth roads, killing a 54-year-old Holiday man in a pickup truck, investigators said Wednesday morning.
Updated, 9:56 a.m.: The man killed in the crash has been identified as Robert Henry Raymer Jr., 54, of Holiday. A Holiday man was killed early Wednesday morning at the intersection of McMullen Booth and Curlew roads in Palm Harbor when his pickup truck was hit by a Clearwater man who ran a red light, investigators said. Robert Henry Raymer Jr., 54, was headed eastbound on Curlew shortly after 5:30 a.m. when a BMW failed to stop for the red light on McMullen Booth and hit the pickup truck's passenger side, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Raymer suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene, investigators said. He was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The driver of the BMW, 29-year-old Jonathan Peter Bytautas of …
Friday, November 16, 2012
The five McMullen Booth Elementary School students on board were not injured in the three-vehicle crash at Sunset Point Road and World Parkway, according to Clearwater Police.
Updated, 5:10 p.m. A school bus was involved in a three-vehicle crash Friday morning at Sunset Point Road and World Parkway, but the five McMullen Booth Elementary School students and two aides aboard were not injured, according to Clearwater Police. The 60-year-old bus driver experienced a "medical issue" and passed out as he was heading west on Sunset Point, according to a preliminary investigation, public safety spokesperson Elizabeth Watts said in a media release. The bus crashed into a white Kia SUV and then a Toyota Camry. "Fortunately, the bus was traveling at a low rate of speed," Watts said, although the damage to the Kia "does look significant." Clearwater Fire & Rescue responded and treated the driver, Stephen Sandford, who was …
Saturday, November 10, 2012
A multi-vehicle collision caused lane closures near the intersection of Gulf to Bay and Belcher in Clearwater.
UPDATE: Three people were injured in a multi-vehicle accident, which closed part of Gulf to Bay Boulevard and Belcher Road for a few hours Saturday night. One driver sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Clearwater Police. According to Clearwater police, a two-door 2009 Chevrolet car was stopped on Gulf to Bay Saturday night at around 5:30 p.m., waiting to make a left turn on to Belcher. The light turned yellow, and the Chevrolet turned into the path of a four-door 2003 Dodge, which was coming from the opposite direction on Gulf to Bay Boulevard. The Dodge then spun and hit a 1977 four-door Lincoln, which was stopped in traffic on Belcher. Ralph E Whitehead, 63, of Clearwater, the driver of the Chevrolet, was flown to Tampa …
Monday, October 15, 2012
Brower B. Yeger Jr., of Clearwater, is suspected to have suffered a medical emergency that caused him to lose control of his car and cross into oncoming traffic on Whitney Road on Monday morning, authorities said.
An 81-year-old Clearwater man died after his car crossed a lane divider on Whitney Road in Largo and was hit head-on by another driver Monday morning, investigators said. Brower B. Yeger, Jr. was headed westbound on Whitney, just east of 62nd Street, around 7:30 a.m. when his 2001 Nissan crossed into the opposite lane, the Florida Highway Patrol reports. He was hit by a Dodge van, whose driver hit the breaks but still crashed head-on into Yeger's car. Yeger was taken to Largo Medical Center and later died, investigators said. He is suspected to have suffered a medical emergency that caused him to lose control of his car, according to the accident report. The driver of the van, 55-year-old Patricia Smith Derringer, of Clearwater, suffered …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
A 19-year-old man failed to yield to oncoming traffic while making a U-turn on the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Clearwater on Tuesday, officials said. Three people, including a 9-year-old boy, suffered serious injuries.
A teenage driver was cited for failing to yield to oncoming traffic in a Tuesday evening crash that injured nine people and shut down the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Investigators say Antonio Hernandez, 19, was headed westbound on the causeway around 6:30 p.m. when he attempted to make a U-turn at the Damascus Road traffic signal. Hernandez's 2000 Ford pickup was struck by an oncoming Nissan Altima that then left the roadway and went onto the adjacent causeway beach, with its vehicle engine compartment engulfed in flames. The driver of the Altima, 54-year-old Marlene Val-Belcher, was pulled out of the vehicle by responding citizens before emergency personnel arrived, according to a City of Clearwater spokesperson. There were eight people …
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Two adults and a 9-year-old boy suffered serious injuries in a two-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Update, 9:07 p.m.: The Courtney Campbell Causeway has reopened, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Earlier: A two-vehicle crash shut down traffic on the Courtney Campbell Causeway on Tuesday evening and left two adults and a child with serious injuries, authorities said. The eastbound side of the causeway is shut down, according to City of Clearwater spokesperson Elizabeth Watts. Westbound traffic is down to one lane but will be reopening momentarily, Watts said. Clearwater Fire & Rescue responded to the crash after a call came in at 6:34 p.m. Tuesday, officials said. A 26-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man and a 9-year-old boy suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a local hospital, along with a 28-year-old woman …
Friday, August 17, 2012
Randall Dean Shoutd, 46, was exiting at 118th Avenue North when he struck a barrier wall and was thrown from his vehicle.
A Clearwater man has died after he was thrown from his motorcycle while exiting Interstate 275 on Wednesday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Randall Dean Shoutd, 46, was exiting I-275 North at 118th Avenue North when he lost control of his 2006 Suzuki and struck the inside barrier wall, investigators said. Shoutd was ejected from the vehicle onto the left shoulder of the roadway, and his motorcycle came to rest at the end of the off ramp. He was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where he later died from injuries sustained in the crash, the FHP reports. The initial report did not indicate if Shoutd was wearing a helmet. This incident remains under investigation.
Zigsauered
11:56 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
I do not believe that a person should go to prison for ACCIDENTALLY causing the death of another. Most of us have good hearts and just knowing that the accident was our fault will never allow us peace mentally excluding the lawsuit. However someone that steals a vehicle then having a accident with STOLEN property I have no pity and they should be relinquished to the Prison Industrial Complex! more ›