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5 hurt in multicar crash on U.S. 19
By KELLEY BENHAM PALM HARBOR -- A multicar wreck on U.S. 19 injured five people Monday morning, including a Clearwater couple trapped with their cat in a smoking, overturned Jeep leaking gasoline. Traffic was blocked in both directions for about two hours after the chain reaction accident near County Road 39. Timothy and Kathleen Kerwin of 2109 Meadowbrook Drive in Clearwater were taken by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center. Witnesses differ slightly on details, but agree on these elements: two airborne sport utility vehicles, a tense and difficult rescue and a terrified kitten named Linus. It began about 9:45 a.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A Coast Guard pilot, Lt. D.T. Russell of Holiday, was headed north toward home after a 12-hour flight in a C-130 when the car in front of him stopped. Russell, driving a black Lincoln Navigator, said he was going about 50 mph when he hit the brakes. "She stopped. I stopped. I swerved," he said. There was nowhere to go. To his left, Hilda Regalla waited in the turn lane, on her way to work at Picadilly cafeteria, where she serves vegetables. "All of a sudden, boom," said Regalla, a slight elderly woman wearing a green uniform and a crucifix. Her 1995 Plymouth Voyager lurched forward about 8 feet, leaving its rear fender behind. Russell then hit the median. The impact launched the Navigator into southbound traffic. Arnie Diaz, 43, of Clearwater, was in the southbound lane talking on his cell phone when he saw the Navigator hit a red Chevy van about three cars in front of him. "Whoa!" he screamed into the phone. The red Chevy Venture driven by Isabella Keita, 40, of Oldsmar, spun across the median into northbound traffic, Diaz said. There, the Kerwins and their kitten were on their way to the vet. "Whoa!" Diaz screamed again. The blue Jeep Grand Cherokee containing the Kerwins smacked into the red Chevy, left the ground, rolled in the air and landed on its roof in the northbound lane. It kept rolling. "Whoa!" Diaz screamed into the phone again, "Oh, my word." Diaz hung up and dialed 911. Bernadette Becker of Palm Harbor saw the falling Jeep and hit the accelerator, afraid it would land on her Chevy Tracker, which has a vinyl roof. Behind her, she saw cars flipping. The Kerwins' Jeep came to rest upside down in the grass near a retention pond by Stonegate apartments. It was leaking smoke and gasoline. Two men watching from a red Ford F350 pulled off the road, into the center median. Dave Schneider, 21, of St. Petersburg grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran for the Jeep. Aaron Vidler, 22, of Pinellas Park, checked on Hilda Regalla, who was shaken and sore but otherwise fine. Russell, the driver of the Navigator, limped across the median to the Jeep. He and Schneider pulled Kathleen Kerwin, 60, out the passenger side door. "If you can hear me, blink your eyes," Schneider said he told Mrs. Kerwin. She blinked. Then she asked about her cat. Linus, a 4-month-old cream-colored Persian, was limp in his plastic carrier, witnesses said. Someone handed the cat to Bernadette Becker, who cuddled it until it recovered. The driver of the Jeep, Timothy Kerwin, 60, was trapped, crumpled and bleeding, Schneider said. "He said, "Get me out of here, it hurts,' " Schneider said. A law enforcement officer cut Kerwin's seat belt off and Schneider slid Kerwin's seat back to give him room, he said. A half-dozen Palm Harbor firefighters worked to free Kerwin. They used fans to blow gasoline fumes out of the car and propped up the Jeep so it wouldn't roll into the pond. They used the Jaws of Life to cut an opening, and pulled Kerwin out, face down. Two Bayflight helicopters took the Kerwins to the hospital. Rescue officials described the couple's injuries as serious but said they did not appear life-threatening. Timothy Kerwin was in fair condition Monday evening. Kathleen Kerwin's condition was not available. Keita, the driver of the Chevy van, was taken by ambulance to Mease Hospital Countryside with minor injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Russell said his right knee hurt, and he had blood on his face, but he did not seek medical treatment. Regalla said her shoulder hurt and she planned to see the doctor after she checked with her boss at Picadilly. Linus went home with Bernadette Becker. The kitten buried its face in her arm and cried, she said. Eventually, the staff at Palm Harbor Animal Hospital tracked down Linus. Becker took the cat to the hospital to be evaluated. Amber Presnell, a veterinary assistant, said Linus was shaken, but otherwise unhurt "He's purring now," she said. -- Staff writer Robert Farley contributed to this report.
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