Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 25, 2001
NORTH LAKES MAN KILLED IN DRUG TREATMENT CENTER: Officials identified Sergio Guedes as the drug rehabilitation counselor who was gunned down in a robbery last weekend. Guedes supported his family with two jobs, one at a hotel restaurant and the other at the Tampa Metro Treatment Center on Busch Boulevard. That's where an attacker confronted Guedes, 46, Sunday morning and shot him in the head.
"He liked to help people," said Guedes' son, 23-year-old Michael Meleiro-Guedes. "People who had problems."
Guedes had been looking forward to a trip to his native Brazil when a well-dressed man wearing a fedora came into the center, carrying a gun and asking for drugs and money. A female employee heard a single shot as they struggled, and Guedes died at Tampa General Hospital.
Sergio Guedes was from Rio de Janeiro, and his wife, Marlene, was from Sao Paolo. The couple came to the United States 21 years ago and moved several times between Seattle and Tampa. Meleiro-Guedes said his father had just celebrated his first anniversary at Tampa Metro Treatment.
GUNN HIGHWAY INTERSECTION IS DEADLY: A speeding driver trying to pass a car on a wet, curvy section of Gunn Highway died Tuesday morning after crashing head-on into a truck, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
The accident occurred at 10:40 a.m. just south of Race Track Road. After a hard rain, the northbound driver crossed the double-yellow, no-passing line and hit the southbound truck in front of Hatcher Wholesale Nursery.
Authorities identified the man as Joseph Volosh, 42, of New Port Richey. Witnesses said Volosh was "passing everybody on the road," said Sgt. Ken Akins.
The driver of the truck was Best Buy employee Robert Morgan, 34, of Tampa. He "did everything he could" to avoid hitting the car, Akins said. Morgan was not hurt, but a passenger, Best Buy employee Michael Hall, 32, was taken to a doctor after complaining of leg injuries. The accident occurred on a dangerous stretch of road, Akins said. "We get a lot of wrecks within a mile either way," he said.
THEME PARK: DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS: Fearful that foot-and-mouth disease could infect their exotic animals, Busch Gardens officials asked tourists who recently traveled from countries affected by the virus not to feed or pet their animals. Park officials say visitors from all countries are welcome in the main section. But they are asking visitors from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, France, the Netherlands or South America in the past five days to not take the Serengeti tour, the Guided Adventure Tour and Animal Adventure Tour, all three of which allow visitors close contact with animals.
Busch Gardens spokesman Gerard Hoeppner said the park's precautionary steps began Friday after a recommendation from the Department of Agriculture and will continue as long as the virus is a problem in Europe and South America. Visitors to the park who have been in the United States more than five days are not subject to the ban. Busch Gardens also is keeping giraffes in its main zoo areas away from areas where the tame animals regularly stretch their necks over a wall to nuzzle people.