Crash kills man, jams traffic

ST. PETERSBURG -- A 41-year-old Tampa man was killed Friday when his pickup truck blew a tire on the Howard Frankland Bridge, causing a massive traffic jam on Interstate 275.

The 1993 Chevrolet pickup was eastbound at about 65 mph, the posted speed, when the right rear tire separated just before the hump of the bridge.

The pickup veered into a concrete wall, then caromed across four lanes and hit the wall on the other side of the bridge. The pickup flipped over, ejecting the driver, FHP troopers said.

The driver died instantly of head trauma in the 2:55 p.m. crash. FHP Cpl. Dan Peterson said the driver might have survived if he had been wearing a seat belt.

The driver's identity was withheld pending notification of relatives. No other cars or people were involved in the crash.

The accident led to miles-long traffic jam of several hours in the northbound lanes of I-275 in Pinellas County. Troopers closed two of the four lanes on the northbound side of the bridge to investigate the crash and clean up debris.

Traffic backed up 6 miles to the Roosevelt Boulevard exit. Traffic was nearly at a standstill on the Gandy Bridge as commuters tried an alternate route.

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