PALM HARBOR - A motorcyclist was killed Thursday night when his vehicle smashed into the back of a two-door sedan on U.S. 19 north of Alderman Road.
The Florida Highway Patrol did not release the name of the victim, who was wearing a helmet, pending the notification of his family.
The driver of the car, Anna Marie Palmer, 64, of Palm Harbor was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital with minor injuries, Trooper Tyrone R. Crim said.
An investigation was ongoing Thursday evening, Crim said.
Palmer was in her car traveling northbound on U.S. 19 shortly before 7 p.m. when she attempted to make a U-turn. The motorcyclist was traveling southbound in the center lane. As Palmer made the U-turn, the motorcyclist ran into the rear of Palmer's car. The motorcyclist was thrown from his bike, a bronze Suzuki, and came to rest in the center lane of southbound traffic. The motorcycle struck a nearby utility pole. Crim said the motorcyclist may have been speeding.
A tour bus returning to Pinellas Park after a gambling trip to Biloxi, Miss., had brake trouble and stopped just south of the accident. The bus was not involved in the wreck, troopers said.
Thursday night's wreck is at least the third time this year that a motorcyclist has been killed in a collision on U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor. Two other fatal accidents took place this spring and involved bikers who were not wearing helmets.
