Police still haven't determined who was at fault in the Wednesday accident on Enterprise Road that left a Tarpon Springs woman dead.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published February 20, 2004
CLEARWATER - The woman killed in a two-car crash on Enterprise Road Wednesday afternoon was 59-year-old Tarpon Springs resident Marion E. Kaiser, police said.
Police said Kaiser was pulling out of an exit to the Cypress Point Shopping Center about 1:30 p.m. when her Toyota Corolla and a BMW eastbound on Enterprise Road collided. Police said they believe Kaiser was trying to turn left onto westbound Enterprise Road when the collision occurred.
Police said the BMW collided with the driver's side of Kaiser's Corolla. She died instantly, police said.
She had three passengers in her car. Two were taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg and one who was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor. None of their injuries was considered life-threatening, police said.
The two women taken to Bayfront were Bertha Baker, 65, of Clearwater, and Anna G. Poteet, 69, of St. Petersburg. The name of the woman taken to Mease was not available Thursday.
After the impact, the BMW veered left and smashed into a ditch. The driver of the BMW, Dale V. Downes, 24, also was taken to Bayfront Medical Center.
Police said Downes, who has a last known address of 2030 54th Ave. N. in St. Petersburg, was treated at the hospital and released.
Police continued to investigate the crash Thursday, though no charges had been filed. Police kept part of Enterprise Road closed until about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday as they investigated the crash. Police have not determined who was at fault.
Kaiser, of 1337 Pine Ridge Circle E., had not been in an auto crash before, nor has she ever received a traffic ticket, in Florida, records show.
Downes does have a history of traffic charges, including a 1999 charge that he fled the scene of a fatal accident on U.S. 19 in Tarpon Springs.
On June 6, 1999, Downes was driving an Acura that rear-ended a Ford pickup driven by Harold A. Dence, 27, who was killed. Downes, then 19, ran from the scene, but sheriff's deputies using a helicopter and police dog tracked him down in the woods about 200 yards from the crash scene.
Downes was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He pleaded guilty to the charge eight months later and was sentenced as a youthful offender to 20 months prison time. He was released in July 2001, corrections records show.
He also was cited for running a stop sign in September 1998 and not obeying a traffic control device in April 1999 and again in May.
- Times researcher Caryn Baird also contributed to this story.
