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Woman killed, two injured in wreckBy AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer© St. Petersburg Times published January 13, 2002 ST. PETERSBURG -- A 31-year-old St. Petersburg woman was killed early Saturday when she ran a red light and hit a van. Police said Colleen Travers Winters drove her 1990 Chevrolet Blazer through the stoplight at 66th Street and 30th Avenue N. The occupants of the 1999 Honda Odyssey minivan she struck, 36-year-old Rasa G. Saldaitiene of Pinellas Park and her 12-year-old daughter, Dovile Saldaitis, suffered minor injuries. Police suspect alcohol was a factor and are investigating whether Winters had been drinking before the accident shortly after midnight Friday. Saldaitiene, driving the van, was traveling east on 30th Avenue N and attempting to turn left onto 66th Street, according to accident reports. After Saldaitiene pulled into the intersection to wait for westbound traffic on 30th Avenue N to pass, Winters, heading south on 66th Street, ran the light and struck the driver's side of the van, police said. Both the van and the Blazer spun in the intersection, and the Blazer rolled onto its roof. Witnesses estimated Winters was traveling 45-50 mph when she hit the van, police said. Winters was partially ejected from the Blazer and was transported to St. Petersburg General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:50 a.m. Saturday. Saldaitiene and her daughter were transported to Northside Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released. Pinellas County records show Winters was charged in December 2000 with leaving the scene of an accident involving injury, driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence. She pleaded guilty on the three counts and was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay fines. Court records also indicate that a judge ordered her license suspended for six months in April 2001. An autopsy will determine Winters' blood-alcohol level, police said.
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