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Man killed in 3-vehicle crash in Pinellas

In 2004, there were 44 wrecks at Gulf-to-Bay, Highland Avenue and Court Street in Clearwater. So far this year, there have been 19.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published July 12, 2005

CLEARWATER - A Hernando County man on his way to work was killed Monday morning when he blew through a red light along Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard and was broadsided by a pickup truck, authorities said.

The site of the fatal crash was the five-way intersection that includes Gulf-to-Bay, Highland Avenue and Court Street. With left turns barred in several directions, some drivers find the crossing tricky.

"It's a huge intersection, but as long as everyone pays attention to the lights, it's not a particularly difficult intersection to navigate," said Clearwater police Sgt. Greg Stewart. "The sight lines from everywhere are pretty good."

In 2004, there were 44 collisions at that intersection. So far this year, there have been 19.

"That's not much considering the size of the intersection," Stewart said.

Ricky Newman, 46, employed by Pinellas County, was on his way to work, said his son, Shawn Newman, a Navy officer stationed in Connecticut.

The elder Newman was driving west on Gulf-to-Bay at 6:22 a.m. when he ran the light at Highland, Stewart said. At that moment, a southbound Dodge Ram truck driven by Robert J. Bathurst, 36, pulled into the intersection and crashed into the passenger side of Newman's Mercury Grand Marquis, the sergeant said.

The impact forced the two vehicles to skid southwest across the intersection and into an eastbound Lincoln Town Car waiting at the light on Court Street, Stewart said. Bathurst and the driver of the Lincoln, Luis Medina Perez, 38, were uninjured.

The accident also caused a spare tire in the trunk of Newman's car to be ejected. It broke through a guardrail on the second floor of a nearby hotel and landed on the balcony.

Newman was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered a serious head injury, authorities said. He was taken by ambulance to Morton Plant Hospital shortly after the crash and was pronounced dead.

Newman was Clearwater's 11th traffic fatality to date in 2005. During the same period last year, there were 7 deaths.

No charges are expected in Monday's crash.

According to his son, Newman, a father of five, did telecommunications work for Pinellas County and fixed cars on the side. Before moving north, he had lived in various places in Pinellas, including Seminole, Largo and Clearwater.

"He enjoyed hanging out with his kids and he loved to go fishing out in the gulf," said the younger Newman, a submarine officer, who said his father's health had deteriorated recently.

"Me and my dad were pretty much best friends," his son said. "And with his health going bad, that's how I kind of expected him to die. But with a car accident ... it's so sudden."

Traffic on Gulf-to-Bay was rerouted for more than four hours.

People who work near the intersection said Monday they haven't noticed an abnormal number of traffic collisions.

"It's crazy," said Mike Rienzie, 27, who works at Street Surfer on the corner of Highland. "I always hear a lot of honks, screeching tires and obscenities, but not a whole lot of crashes."

--Staff researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

[Last modified July 12, 2005, 01:26:22]