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By Times staff reports
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 13, 2001
Motorcyclist killed as he flies off overpass
ST. PETERSBURG -- A 20-year-old man died Thursday evening when he lost control of his motorcycle on Interstate 375 and dropped about 20 feet from an overpass over Eighth Street N, authorities said.
The man was headed east toward downtown St. Petersburg about 6 p.m. when he came to a slight curve on I-375 and veered into a low concrete wall on the side of the overpass. He and his motorcycle flipped over the wall and fell into a gap between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the overpass.
He landed on a grassy area alongside Eighth Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues N. He died at the scene.
The man's name wasn't released pending notification of his family.
After learning from a reporter that he was a delinquent taxpayer, Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice called the Bank of America on Wednesday to find out why his escrow account didn't pay the $2,853.49 owed on his waterfront property in Treasure Island.
The answer is unclear, but the bank is researching the matter, he said.
"They acknowledged it wasn't paid and that they would take care of it," Rice said Thursday.
A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment.
ST. PETERSBURG -- Using conflicting opinions from lower appellate courts, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday set a standard cities must use in deciding when they can shut down a nuisance property without making payment to the owner.
For St. Petersburg residents, Thursday's ruling means the city must once again pay an owner whose apartment complex was shut down in 1993 by the Nuisance Abatement Board.
The Supreme Court ruled that St. Petersburg failed to prove that illegal activity at Joseph Kablinger's apartments at 506 Grove St. was "inextricably intertwined" with its use.
The justices wrote: "The St. Petersburg (Nuisance Abatement Board) closed the apartment solely on a finding that the apartment had been the site of cocaine sales on more than two occasions."
TAMPA -- The last of the four main players in a patient-brokering scheme regarded by federal prosecutors as the largest in the United States was sentenced in federal court Thursday.
Unlike his three partners, Stephen Edward Levy is not headed to prison. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Levy to three years' probation. Levy has already paid $750,000 in restitution and a $250,000 fine.
Levy had faced a prison sentence, but he received consideration for cooperating with the investigation. Prosecutor Eduardo Toro-Font said Levy helped secure convictions against 30 other defendants and allowed the government to recoup $15-million.
SEMINOLE -- A 15-year-old boy was burned on his arms, hands, chest and face Thursday afternoon in a grease fire while cooking in his Seminole home, authorities said.
Samuel Wilson suffered second-degree burns on about 40 percent of his body, firefighters said. He was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where he was in stable condition.
The fire started about 1:30 p.m. at Wilson's home at 9185 82nd Way N as he was cooking on a stove top. His parents were home at the time.
"He tried to pull the pan off the stove and cover it," said Alison Shanabrook, spokeswoman for the Seminole Fire Department. "Flames and grease spilled back on him as he tried to throw the pan or grease out the front door."
When paramedics arrived, Wilson was in the shower, running cold water on his burns.
"He definitely did the right thing. His acting so quickly with the cold water stopped the burn from continuing," Shanabrook said. "If you ever burn yourself, don't put petroleum-based ointment on it. You always want to flush it with cold water."