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MEGAN SCOTTThe woman and her husband were on their way to the airport when the accident occurred on McMullen-Booth.
SAFETY HARBOR - A 57-year-old Safety Harbor woman was killed Friday morning after the car in which she was riding turned into the path of another car on McMullen-Booth Road.
Debra Cipollini was critically injured when her husband, who was driving, turned into the path of an oncoming car at about 6:20 a.m. She was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Mease Countryside Hospital.
"She just basically was killed instantly," said her only son, Robert Jack Cipollini, 36, almost in disbelief. "She was cold as I was holding her hand (at the hospital)."
The accident occurred at the intersection of McMullen-Booth and Eastland Boulevard. The couple were on their way to the airport. Debra Cipollini was flying to Georgia for the weekend to see her mother.
Police said Robert Cipollini, 58, was traveling north on McMullen-Booth when he attempted to make a left turn. A car going south on McMullen-Booth struck the Cipollinis' car on the passenger side.
Robert Cipollini and the other driver, Vincent Desiderio, 54, of Port Richey, suffered non-life threatening injuries.
No one was cited in the crash, but authorities are still investigating. The accident closed all but one lane of southbound McMullen-Booth Road for several hours.
Both father and son were too distraught Friday to talk much about Debra Cipollini. Her son said she was a member of the Red Hat Society, a national social organization for women known for their red hats and purple dresses.
The couple had been married 37 years and lived in the Harbor Woods Village subdivision off Enterprise Road.
"She was a loving wife," said Robert Cipollini, with tears in his eyes. "She would do anything for you. You don't really know how much you miss someone until they are gone."
Megan Scott can be reached at 445-4167 or mscott@sptimes.com