None of the accident victims were hurt seriously. The passenger in one car had to be cut from it to be treated.
By RICHARD DANIELSON
Published March 26, 2004
[Times photo: Richard Danielson]
Palm Harbor Fire Rescue personnel tend Randy Degregorio on a Pontiac Firebird TransAm after a wreck south of Alderman Road on U.S. 19. He was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. Degregorio, his brother Richard and Ljiljana Stojkovic were hurt, but injuries were not life threatening.
PALM HARBOR - Three people were hurt in a rollover accident Thursday afternoon that briefly shut down U.S. 19 in both directions.
None of the injuries were life-threatening, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, but Palm Harbor Fire Rescue had to cut the roof off one car to pull out the passenger.
Troopers said that man, 25-year-old Randy Degregorio of Port Richey, was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.
A hospital spokeswoman said he was evaluated and was being discharged late Thursday afternoon.
The wreck occurred about 2 p.m. in front of the Fountains shopping center south of Alderman Road. Degregorio's brother, Richard Degregorio, 24, of Port Richey, was driving a Pontiac TransAm south on U.S. 19 and was changing lanes to pull into the inside lane, troopers said.
Behind him, witnesses told troopers that a yellow Honda in the inside lane cut to the right in front of an Isuzu Rodeo driven by 45-year-old Ljiljana Stojkovic. Stojkovic pulled into the inside lane to avoid a collision, clipped the median and rolled over, colliding with Degregorio's car, Trooper Timothy E. Nichols Jr. said.
"I could see glass and metal flying everywhere," said motorist Nancy Morrison, who watched the accident unfold in her rear-view mirror.
"You could see smoke" from the brakes as Stojkovic "was trying to slow down," said Morrison, 44, of Clearwater. "Her butt end came up and over, she flipped one more time and she ended up on her roof and still skidded the rest of the way."
The yellow car did not stop, Nichols said.
Rescuers had to cut the roof off the TransAm to free Randy Degregorio. The collision had smashed in the passenger's side door and twisted his seat over, Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Lt. Chad Pittman said.
Traffic in both directions was reduced to a crawl or stopped completely for about half an hour.
Stojkovic was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor, where she was treated and released, authorities said. Nichols said troopers thought she was from Tallahassee.
Richard Degregorio was taken by ambulance to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was in fair condition.
Nichols said no charges were anticipated against either Degregorio or Stojkovic.
- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.
