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Driver missing after Skyway wreck

Officials fear the driver may have been thrown from the bridge when the car rolled over. The 2002 Chrysler was registered to a Bradenton man.

A rush hour wreck that snarled traffic on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Tuesday morning for three hours turned into a mystery for investigators: The driver vanished.

The 2002 Chrysler was going north on Interstate 275 in the inside lane going over the bridge around 6:50 a.m. when the driver crossed over to the outside lane, went onto the paved shoulder and struck the outside wall, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The vehicle flew into the air, turned counterclockwise, rolled over and hit the inside concrete barrier wall. Troopers at the scene searched the Chrysler but there was no one inside, said FHP spokesman Trooper Larry Coggins. He said anyone inside the vehicle either fell into the water below or rode off in another vehicle before rescue workers arrived. But a number of witnesses arrived quickly at the scene and saw no passenger on the ground or climbing into another vehicle.

"We're fearing the worst - that he or she went over the side," Coggins said. "From the crash to the time it came to rest, passing motorists did not see anyone leaving the scene. No one saw him lying on the road or taking off."

The Coast Guard searched the water but found nothing, Coggins said. FHP says the Chrysler is registered to a Bradenton man, but as of Tuesday evening troopers hadn't determined whether he was driving it at the time of the crash.

"We can't rule out that someone else was driving the car," Coggins said. The car had not been reported stolen, he added.

Coggins said law enforcement officials have been unable to locate the owner of the Chrysler, whom he would not identify, or his family.

Saundra Amrhein can be reached at 813 226-3383 or amrhein@sptimes.com