Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 7, 2002
Pinellas Park woman, 25, dies when car overturns
PINELLAS PARK -- A 25-year-old Pinellas Park woman was killed when her car overturned early Tuesday at 49th Street and 110th Avenue N, authorities said.
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper driving on 49th Street found Melissa Ann Olson dead in her damaged car shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday. "Apparently, she had been driving on the road, swerved, rolled her car over once and landed in a parking lot," said Pinellas Park police Sgt. Dan Levy.
Olson was found in her car outside a Marathon gas station at 4911 110th Ave. N. Police do not think any other vehicles were involved in the crash. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
TAMPA -- County officials have decided to keep the Hillsborough County Courthouse snack bar run by Brad Carleton, who is legally blind.
A plan to eliminate the snack bar as part of courthouse renovations angered lawyers and judges who are friends with Carleton, his daughter and another legally blind employee.
Carleton said he had no other way to support his family and considered the job a way for him to interact with the world.
More than 1,500 people signed a petition to keep the snack bar. "You have to fight for your cause," Carleton said.
TAMPA -- A chief officer of a tanker ship was indicted in federal court Wednesday, accused of causing the death of a man under his command through "misconduct, negligence and inattention to his duties," according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
On May 18, 2000, Gilbert Thurston of Naples, the chief officer of the SS Trinity, told crewman Frederic Albert Cambra Jr. to clean a tank that had contained methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), an ether-based petrochemical used as a gasoline additive. The ship had dropped off its load of MTBE in New York and was on the way to Houston.
According to the indictment, Thurston failed to ensure that the cleaning operation was conducted in a safe manner and failed to comply with the ship's precautions and procedures for closed spaces. When Cambra entered the tank to mop up residue, he collapsed and stopped breathing, according to the news release. Efforts to revive him failed.
If convicted, Thurston, who was employed by Sabine Transportation Co., faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Thurston will be allowed to turn himself in to authorities. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
TAMPA -- A man was shot during an apparent robbery at a gas station on 56th Street and Sligh Avenue on Wednesday.
Hillsborough sheriff's deputies said they received a 911 call and then a robbery alarm from the Shell gas station about 10:15 p.m.
Upon arrival, officers called for paramedics.
Hani Abuhalemeh, a 29-year-old clerk, was shot in the chest, said authorities.
Abuhalemeh was working for a friend and was not a regular employee at the store, said deputies.
Deputies did not know whether anyone else was in the store at the time of the shooting.
"It's got all the earmarks of the robbery, said Lt. Rod Reder of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. "(Abuhalemeh) was unable to respond to our questions at the scene."
Abuhalemeh was flown to Tampa General Hospital, where he was scheduled to undergo surgery. As of 11:15 p.m., the shooter had not been found despite a ground and air search, said Reder.