Would-be rescuer thought only of victim

By KATHRYN WEXLER

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 22, 2001

TAMPA -- When Kevin Callahan cruises the streets for the state Department of Transportation as a Road Ranger, he's usually looking for broken-down cars.

Monday night, the call Callahan took from the dispatcher was altogether different. A three-car accident had pitched an SUV over the westbound Howard Frankland Bridge.

Could Callahan, a 35-year-old former chicken plant worker, help?

Five minutes later, at about 10 p.m., he drove up to a distressed clutch of onlookers crowding around the broken railing. Three people were stuck in the 2001 Mitsubishi that had just plunged below, someone said excitedly.

"All I could think about was these people down there," Callahan said Tuesday. "I didn't know if they were children or adults or what."

He grabbed his life vest and tied a rope around his ankle. Then he jumped -- he doesn't remember how far or how the water felt when he hit.

He just gulped some air and took a deep dive, 10 feet or so, he figures. The water was so murky, he couldn't make out a thing. He came up for air and tried again. Still, nothing.

Eventually, he had to give up.

It turned out there was only one person in the SUV. He was Michael R. Olson, 29, of Sarasota, FHP officials said.

Callahan watched as the vehicle was hoisted out of the water, its roof crushed in. Olson still had his seat belt on.

"At that point, I got real sad about it," Callahan said.

FHP officials said debris from a popped tire was to blame for the accident. Christina Marie Ivey, the driver of a 1997 Chevrolet, veered into the next lane to avoid it. That sent Nicole Angela Laurence, in a 1997 Nissan, careening across several lanes, where she hit the rear of Olson's vehicle, which rolled several times before plunging off the bridge. Laurence and her two passengers required medical care, the FHP said.

Callahan lives in Oldsmar and has worked for the FHP since January, when he moved from Virginia. He was ready to return to his graveyard shift Tuesday night.

"I just like being where I can help."

- Times researcher John Martin and staff writer Amy Herdy contributed to this report.

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