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Crash kills Palm Harbor man; 3 others remain hospitalized

By MELANIE AVE
Published June 11, 2006

PALM HARBOR - A 26-year-old Palm Harbor man died early Saturday when he was thrown about 40 feet in a wreck near Nebraska Avenue and 12th Street, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Raymond A. Johns died at the scene, the patrol said. Three others were flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. Two were taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa with less serious injuries, said Dan Zinge, district chief of Palm Harbor Fire Rescue."

Joseph W. Torina, 24, of Palm Harbor was driving a 2000 Pontiac north on 12th Street and missed a stop sign at Nebraska Avenue, the patrol said.

The car slammed into the front of a 1999 GMC sport utility vehicle headed east on Nebraska, causing it to flip. It came to rest on the northeast shoulder of the street in a mostly residential neighborhood near the city's old downtown area.

Two GMC passengers, Johns and Kristopher D. Katzer, 26, of Palm Harbor, were thrown from the vehicle. Katzer was taken to Bayfront by helicopter with life-threatening injuries. He was listed in critical condition Saturday.

A third passenger, Chase M. Merritt, 21, of Palm Harbor, was taken to St. Joseph's and released a few hours later.

Torina, of 1231 Illinois Ave., was taken to St. Joseph's and released by early afternoon. Two Pontiac passengers, Stephanie Fulton, 22, and Brandon Tanner, 24, were flown to Bayfront, also with life-threatening injuries. Fulton was listed in serious condition and Tanner in fair condition Saturday afternoon.

Melanie Ave can be reached at 727 893-8813 or mave@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 11, 2006, 05:48:57]