Teen boy dies, girl injured in accident

By Times Staff Writer
Published November 3, 2007

PORT RICHEY

A 17-year-old boy riding his motorcycle with his girlfriend Thursday night was killed after they collided with a car, a Florida Highway Patrol report said. Jonathan Harrigan, a senior at Ridgewood High School, died. Junior Krystale Fernandez, 16,was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. The hospital would not release her condition. According to the FHP: The accident occurred about 7:20 p.m. Sandra Bari, 61, of 112-A Gordon St., was westbound on Commons Boulevard in a 1993 Honda when she stopped at a stop sign at U.S. 19. Harrigan's 2003 Kawasaki motorcycle was headed north on U.S. 19 in the outside lane, the report said. Bari didn't see Harrigan coming and came across the northbound lanes of U.S. 19, the report said. Harrigan hit the side of her car and died. Harrigan was raised by a single mother, excelled at art and is an organ donor, said family friend William Matkin. His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at North Meadowlawn Funeral Home in New Port Richey.

Developer plans marina on bayou

A Pinellas Park developer wants to build a commercial marina with 300 wet slips, a boat ramp and a storage facility on Miller's Bayou. Belleair Development Group plans to build on property just north of Old Post Road and west of Waterfront Park. The property is jointly owned by the city and the Don Johnson Trust, which developer Carlos Yepes is in the process of purchasing. A conceptual drawing was submitted to the city last week, but Yepes must go before the City Council for approval. The council will discuss the marina at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at City Hall, 6333 Ridge Road.

DADE CITY

Teen pleads in sex assault of boy at Y

A Zephyrhills teenager has pleaded to charges in an August incident at the East Pasco Family YMCA. The boy, 14, was accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old boy in a bathroom of the Zephyrhills facility. The Times is not identifying the teen because of his age and the nature of the crime. The victim was not named in police reports. Police said the teenager followed the boy into a stall about 5:30 p.m. Aug. 24 and assaulted him. An adult walked in and stopped the attack. The teen pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious molestation and false imprisonment. He was judged delinquent and committed to a high-risk program with the Department of Juvenile Justice.

[Last modified November 2, 2007, 22:23:28]