Hillsborough: 13-car pileup kills one woman

VALRICO - Brenda Hernandez watched disaster spin toward her. It happened so fast, she said.

Ahead of her, in the eastbound lane of State Road 60, a pickup truck suddenly swerved to the left, striking two more cars and throwing them over the median into the westbound lane.

One of the two cars hit a white truck, flipping it into the air. Another car careened into a dump truck, which crossed the median, heading for Hernandez.

Hernandez, her husband and their baby were fine. The sprawling chain reaction began at 2:43 p.m. When it was over, 13 vehicles had been damaged. Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies said the pileup killed one person: 60-year-old Janice Clayton of 913 Birdie Way, Apollo Beach.

A preliminary investigation found that Brandie Voss, 34, 10414 Cone Grove Road, Riverview, the driver of a 2000 Dodge pickup, was recklessly cutting in and out of lanes on Highway 60 when she lost control and struck another vehicle, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

That caused a chain reaction that deputies are still trying to sort out. Charges for Voss are pending, Carter said.

Four cars and two pickup trucks, as well as the dump truck, were totaled. More cars suffered minor damage.

Four drivers were taken to Brandon Regional Hospital. Four others suffered cuts, Carter said.

Shoppers came out to the edge of the Home Depot and Wal-Mart parking lots, straining against the police tape to take pictures of the wrecked cars. A helicopter landed to take victims to the hospital.

For about half an hour, traffic on State Road 60 east was at a standstill. Finally, deputies allowed cars to make a U-turn over the median and go back the way they came. Even then, traffic crawled. By evening, a lane in each direction had been opened.

Dustin Ervin, 25, was one of three drivers - one of them a deputy in a cruiser - who got into a fender bender as a result of the crash.

They'd been waiting in the turn lane when the pickup went out of control, he said.

He said he overheard the driver of the truck telling a friend that she had been trying to change a CD when she lost control.

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Comments on this article

by Becky	07/05/07 12:46 AM
Ms. Voss' father was a police officer? Maybe that is why justice has not been served for the death of my mother, Ms. Clayton?

by Amber	04/30/07 12:35 PM
I was in the wreck and the white ford flipped over my car nearlly killing me and my mother laura Stone of riverview fl. I live in westchester apt. right next to walmart and i have witnesses atleast 9 wreck's here. Something has to change. Soon!

by PD	03/26/07 07:57 PM
The really bad thing that most people will not know or will have remembered is that Ms. Voss' father was a Tampa Police Department Officer who was killed tragically several years ago in a traffic crash.

by wendy	03/26/07 02:10 PM
i think it sux cuz my teacher wuz in it :( i feel really REALLY bad 4 the people who lost family members!!!

by STEVE	03/25/07 03:32 AM
So why dont we outlaw cell phones,pets on drivers laps,changing cd's television screens visible to the driver? And then enforce it? It would save lives even if it wouldnt be popular.

by Kenny	03/24/07 07:04 PM
The Claytons were my childhood neighbors. I haven't seen them in more than 15 years. Barely a week goes by that I don't think about their family in fond reflection. What an unnecessary tragedy - Janice will be sorely missed. My condolensces...

by pam	03/24/07 06:36 PM
driver's license, which includes your home address are considered public information, as well as how much you paid for your house, so it is legal for the press to publish her address. any arrest is also public information.

by Drew Finn	03/23/07 11:08 PM
All my thoughts and prayers, Ashley. Too many people are killed by drivers talking on phones, changing CDs, doing their hair or their work, or whatever all the time. God bless you in your time of need.

by Blake	03/23/07 09:54 PM
Janice was my mother's first cousin. I will always remember her at our family gatherings. She will be missed by all of those who knew her. My heart goes out to her husband and children.

by jf	03/23/07 07:24 PM
Words can not even begin to explain what this person's actions have taken away. So many lives changed forever & robbed of someone so special to them... a wife, a mother, a sister, a grandmother, & so on. It's truly so sad & heartbreaking.

by Les, Angi, Ayla	03/23/07 06:24 PM
Our hearts goes out to Bob, Ashley, Harley, the extended Clayton family and us friends who are left only with our fond memories of Janice. She was a wife, mother, grandmother and friend to so many of us. She'll be missed.

by Sal	03/23/07 05:26 PM
Tampa Bay roads are extremely dangerous people. Slow down out there and stay off that phone.

by robert	03/23/07 04:05 PM
another case of a reckless driver not paying attention to what they were doing, as is the case in more wrecks than one, too much traffic, too many speeders and reckless drivers.

by Donna	03/23/07 03:53 PM
This accident has had such a impact on so many peoples lives. Something so innocent as changing a CD has affected so many people. My heart and prayers go out to her Husband, Children, Grandchildren and everyone that was involved.

by Carolyn	03/23/07 03:31 PM
My prayers go out to the family of Janice Clayton. As far as Ms. Voss is concern, that woman should never be allow to drive again! In a hurry to go nowhere and look at the damage you have done. Hope you have real good insurance, you're gonna need it!

by Teach	03/23/07 02:50 PM
Now Brandie Voss was wreckless. But... Her address is published in the article. How legal is that?

by Arnold	03/23/07 02:43 PM
I have lived in Pinellas County most of my 53 years. We are too congested to allow aggressive driving that put others at risk. I wish the authorities would be more aggressive in ticketing this style of dangerous driving. I see it every day at work

by Lynn	03/23/07 02:41 PM
Many drivers think that any vehicle can quickly switch lanes regardless of the handling capablities.Trucks do not handle like small cars. Some people don't know there's anyone else on the road driving. Only that they've got to get somewhere NOW!

by Ashley	03/23/07 01:37 PM
Janice Guy Clayton was my mother, I would just like to thank you for your comments its nice to see that people do care. She always said "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" she was the kindest person you could have ever met!

by JOhn	03/23/07 01:02 PM
Voss should go home and look around her house, look in her bank account, look at everything she has and realize it's all about to disappear. Welcome to bankruptcy! The many plaintiff's attorneys now on the case are gonna rip her apart.

by Fu...from the frozen north	03/23/07 11:55 AM
What a shame! All it takes is just one fool to cause a persons death and a close call for many others! Along with the accident investigation, they should check to see if the driver/C D changer has any brains.

by Lynn	03/23/07 11:49 AM
People who cause accidents are not necessarily putting on make-up, talking on cells, changing CD's etc. Many have both hands on the wheel and purposely drive reckless.

by Individual	03/23/07 11:48 AM
Individual like that make you wonder who taught her to drive. I have to agree with the comment from Gary.They need to put back driver education in schools. This might cut down on car accident from the youth!!!!!!!!

by jay	03/23/07 11:25 AM
You make a seemingly derogatory statement about people "against the police tape to take pictures" yet you gleefully show such a picture in this article. The driver will have to live with this forever-hope she cares. My prayers to all including her.

by Ken	03/23/07 10:43 AM
Yet another lousy driver with no ability or brains. We need more law enforcement to get these idiots off the road BEFORE they kill people - not only after.

by Pam	03/23/07 10:13 AM
And we wonder why our car insurance rates go up....yet people insist on talking on phones, putting on makeup, changing CD's, combing hair, eating, and doing everything BUT pay attention!!!! And look at the heartache and tragedy that result....

by tiffany	03/23/07 10:07 AM
The story says that she was weaving in and out of traffic. She was changing a cd that whole time? People like that shouldn't be out on the road. Charges are pending? Hopefully they will throw the book at her, she took a life by being so wreckless.

by Gary	03/23/07 07:47 AM
Someone should ask Ms Voss, where she had to go that was so important that she had the right to endanger other people's lives and health. I have done this to idiots that think they own the road on several occassions, answer is usually nowhere special

13-car pileup kills one woman

Authorities say a reckless driver caused a chain reaction that snarled SR 60 traffic for hours.