TAMPA - Dozens of patrons at Busch Gardens theme park were evacuated from the Montu roller coaster Monday afternoon when a computer for the ride detected a problem with a pressure switch.
No one was injured.
Spokesman Gerard Hoeppner said two computers constantly monitor the condition of the steel roller coaster, from the speed of the trains to the distance between each one.
He said one of the computers detected an "issue with a pressure switch," which helps slow the coaster as it reaches the station where passengers load.
Hoeppner said workers made the decision to stop the ride as a precaution. One train carrying more than two dozen people had just left the station, and those people were unloaded onto stairs that run alongside the track, Hoeppner said.
The ride reopened within hours, and the passengers taken off the earlier train were given a voucher to ride the coaster without having to wait in line, Hoeppner said.
22 arrested at sobriety checkpoints
More than 2,000 vehicles passed through two three-hour sobriety checkpoints this weekend in North Pinellas, with deputies arresting 16 people for driving under the influence, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
The checkpoints were staged from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Friday at the Berea Baptist Church on Alt. U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor, and from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Saturday at Lockheed Martin on Tampa Road in Oldsmar. Twenty-nine deputies participated in the operation.
Of the 2,110 vehicles that went through, 422 were assessed for driver impairment, license status and warrants. The checks took an average of 11/2 minutes, according to the Sheriff's Office. A total of 22 people were arrested on 31 charges.
In addition to the DUIs, deputies made arrests on possession of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, driving with suspended or revoked license, driving without a valid license, probation violation and hit-and-run with property damage. Forty-eight citations were issued and nine vehicles were impounded.
Guns found at scene of motel shooting
CLEARWATER - Police said Monday they found four loaded guns, including an assault rifle, inside the motel room of a man shot to death by an officer Friday.
Robert C. Williams II, 43, barricaded himself inside a first-floor room at the Regal Motel on Cleveland Street on Friday. At one point, he held a male acquaintance hostage in the room, but eventually let him go.
Just after 2 p.m., Williams emerged at the door of the room and pointed a gun at officers, said police spokesman Wayne Shelor. Sgt. Mark Trulock, a 16-year department veteran who is on the SWAT team, fired one shot, killing Williams. Police said Williams had told negotiators that police would have to shoot him.
Police discovered two handguns, a shotgun and the assault rifle in the room, Shelor said. Officers also found more ammunition in Williams' car. Police said a drug problem may have led to Williams' behavior.
