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By TIMES WIRES
Published November 26, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG

Homeless man's body found under bridge

Fishermen discovered the body of a homeless man about 8 a.m. Saturday under the southwest corner of the Seminole Bridge near the Bay Pines VA Medical Center.

Pinellas County sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said there was no sign of foul play.

The man was identified as Bruce W. Newell, 60.

She said Newell apparently lived under the bridge, where a tattered Queen Anne-style wing chair sat alongside the busy Bay Pines Boulevard.

Pasha said Newell's family in Minnesota said he struggled with alcohol abuse problems.

RIVERVIEW

Man injured by crash into small tree dies

A Riverview man who was hospitalized Nov. 18 after losing control of the station wagon he was driving and hitting a small tree died Wednesday.

The cause of death for Robert A. Straub, 72, and the cause of his accident were still under investigation, said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Coggins on Saturday.

While pulling out of a driveway at 7240 U.S. 301, Straub's vehicle crossed the highway, struck a curb, crossed the sidewalk, rolled through a parking lot and hit the small tree. After the crash, a report said, Straub put the car in reverse and backed over a water pipe before coming to a stop.

Straub was taken to Brandon Regional Medical Center, where he died.

TAMPA

Lanes closed Monday to repair water main

A broken water main that is pouring millions of gallons a day into the Hillsborough River, will tie up traffic Monday when repairs begin, officials said Saturday.

Lanes at N Ashley Drive and E Jackson Street will be shut down. Northbound Ashley will be reduced to one lane, and one turn lane on Jackson will be closed.

A water main break is 10 feet beneath the surface of the Hillsborough River, said Tampa Water Department director Brad Baird.

Crews will replace a valve at the intersection while replacing nearly 20 feet of pipe under the river.

No water service was disrupted from the Friday rupture, Baird said, and the repairs will not affect water service to any downtown businesses.

The pipe had a 1½-foot by 6-inch gash, Baird said.

It was too early, he said, to estimate how much the repairs will cost.

What caused the rupture was unknown, but Baird suspects age. The 50-year-old pipe is one of many in the city that should be replaced, he said.

[Last modified November 26, 2006, 00:04:36]