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Passenger dies after car is hit on I-275 shoulder

By Times Staff
Published June 27, 2005

A 65-year-old St. Petersburg woman died Sunday afternoon after the car she was in was struck while stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 275 north of Gandy Boulevard, said Florida Highway Patrol troopers and Pinellas County sheriff's deputies.

Alberto Sanabria, 50, of Clearwater was driving a gold Hyundai north on I-275 on the right shoulder of the highway when he saw a disabled Chevrolet Lumina ahead and swerved to avoid it, law officers said.

He swerved left going around the vehicle, but then swerved back to the right, hitting a Chevrolet Sunbird driven by Michelle Holmes that was parked in front of the Lumina.

Holmes, 20, had three passengers in the car. All four people in the Sunbird were taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. Holmes' passenger, Martha Harrell later died at the hospital; Demaurion Holmes, 1, and Rashaad Brown, 17, remained in serious condition and Holmes was listed in fair condition Sunday night, reports said.

Sanabria had minor injuries, the reports said.

TAMPA - Residents of Waters Place Apartments, 4014 Waters Ave., were evacuated Sunday night after gas leaked from a 500-gallon liquefied petroleum tank.

The leak began at about 7:30 p.m. and residents called Hillsborough County Fire Rescue about 45 minutes later when they saw a white cloud, said Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley.

Rescue workers told about 50 people in 20 units to leave the complex after they discovered the leak.

Just flicking a light switch could ignite the cloud and cause the tank to explode, he said.

Rescue workers and a hazardous materials team turned off the gas to the apartment building, but were still unable to stop the leak. Workers from Northside Gas Co. were called and late Sunday were removing the gas from the tank.

DUNNELLON - A University of South Florida student drowned in the Rainbow River on Saturday, and Marion County Sheriff's Office investigators are trying to determine why.

Billy J. Elias-Carrero, 22, was pronounced dead at a Marion County hospital at 2:47 p.m. Saturday after being pulled from the Rainbow River a short while earlier.

Elias-Carrero was a computer science major at USF in Tampa, attending the summer session. He lives in Puerto Rico, Marion County Sheriff's Capt. Dennis Stow said. Stow said Elias-Carrero's body had no obvious trauma. He said investigators were trying to determine if he could swim.

[Last modified June 27, 2005, 01:06:04]