Digest

One dead after SUV, motorcycle collide

By Times Staff Writer
Published September 2, 2007

WEEKI WACHEE

A motorcyclist died Friday evening after a head-on collision with a sport utility vehicle on Cortez Boulevard west of U.S. 19, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred about 5:15 p.m. and shut down the main coastal thoroughfare for hours. Authorities were still piecing together the details of the accident and had not identified the victim.

Witness Christopher Guntor of Spring Hill said a Suzuki motorcycle passed his vehicle heading east just before it collided with a red GMC Yukon Denali in the middle of a curve in the two-lane road.

It was unclear whether anyone in the SUV was injured; however, an emergency medical helicopter was called to the scene to airlift a patient.

"This is the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life," Guntor said. "When I saw it, I couldn't stop shaking."

Guntor, 20, said the road was slick from recent rain. The motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, passed him "going fast" in a passing zone immediately before the road curved, he said.

After the crash, traffic was rerouted for a number of motorists heading toward the Pine Island and Hernando Beach communities.

ZEPHYRHILLS

Head-on crash injures carload of teenagers

A little after 10 p.m. Friday, a silver car crossed the median of U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills and crashed head on with a car full of teenagers, injuring all of them.

The driver of the 1996 silver two-door Acura was Wayne Bradford Roberts, 42, of Zephyrhills. He did not appear to have serious injuries, a Zephyrhills Police Department report said.

The second car was a 1998 two-door white Saturn driven by Kelley O'Brian, 18, of Dade City. Her passengers were Bethany Ann Clayton, 18, of San Antonio, a 16-year-old boy from Wesley Chapel and a 17-year-old boy from Trilby.

All were flown to nearby hospitals, with O'Brian listed as having critical injuries.

All the teens are students at Pasco High School in Dade City, police said.

The accident was under investigation Saturday.

[Last modified September 1, 2007, 23:57:43]