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Truck loses brakes, rams tollbooth
By AMY HERDY, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- Hauling 61,000 pounds of sand, truck driver David Rodriguez was approaching a cluster of cars at a tollbooth Monday and trying to slow down when he realized something was wrong.
Helpless, he careened along at 40 mph in the westbound lanes of the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway, across three lanes of westbound traffic, over the median and two eastbound lanes. Finally his truck collided with a tollbooth at Willow Avenue, knocking it off its foundation and injuring the attendant inside. Nicole Dobbs, 21, of Port Richey, was taken to Tampa General Hospital and treated for possible broken bones, said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin. Dobbs was released from the hospital Monday afternoon. No details were released regarding her injuries. Rodriguez, of 9225 W Patterson St. in Tampa, was not injured in the incident, which occurred shortly before 10 a.m. He said afterward that his first thought was for the woman in the tollbooth and he was relieved she was not badly hurt. Rodriguez said he was a truck driver for 23 years in Cuba before moving to the United States four years ago. Monday, he was driving for Furben Transport of Tampa. While police gave him a citation for having faulty brakes, they also praised his reflexes. "It looks like his quick action kept this from getting worse," Durkin said. The large white hood of the truck was wrapped around the tollbooth. The structure's concrete sides were dented. Dobbs, the attendant, was "very nervous," said Tampa Fire Rescue acting Capt. Rick Acosta. Looking at the size of the truck and what could have happened, Acosta said, "I told her it was her lucky day." -- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Amy Herdy can be reached at (813) 226-3386 or herdy@sptimes.com.
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"No brakes," recalled Rodriguez, 49. "Nothing."
