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Jogger, 58, badly hurt by young driver's car
By ANNE LINDBERG © St. Petersburg Times, published October 18, 2000 KENNETH CITY -- A vacationing jogger was seriously injured Monday when she was hit by a car driven by a Dixie Hollins student who apparently had skipped school to go to lunch. Lois P. Lessard, 58, was listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon at Bayfront Medical Center. Lessard, of Halifax, Mass., has been visiting her father in Kenneth City. "Here's a case of someone innocently out pursuing some enjoyment and, because of someone's apparent lack of care, is recovering from some substantial injuries," said Marianne Pasha, spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. The driver of the car, Justin Ali Durrani, 16, of Seminole, and one of his passengers, Kenneth P. Danielson, 16, of Pinellas Park, were not injured. His other passenger, Cody J. Flesner, 15, also of Pinellas Park, received a cut. Durrani, the Sheriff's Office said, had received a speeding ticket this year and had attended traffic school for that. Pasha said the accident happened this way: The three teenagers apparently decided to leave the high school campus about 11:23 a.m. to get lunch. Witnesses saw them before they left the parking lot, apparently indulging in a bit of horseplay in the car. "They were skidding around the parking lot, fishtailing," Pasha said. When they turned north out of the lot onto 62nd Street, "they still were going not excessively fast but fast enough (that) with a combination of their speed and the apparent recklessness of their driving, the driver lost control of the car." The 1992 Honda left the street, hit Lessard, who was jogging on the sidewalk, and flipped once. It also knocked over a school crossing sign. "She became airborne at one point," Pasha said of Lessard, who suffered injuries to her hands and arms. The car was destroyed. Pasha said no charges had been filed by Tuesday because the investigation was continuing. She was not sure if the three face any penalties from school authorities for leaving campus during the school day. The accident comes at a time when Kenneth City police are cracking down on traffic violators, especially speeders and drunken drivers. The push comes from complaints police have received from town residents, Kenneth City police Chief Jim Ernst said. The town recently bought a new radar unit, the chief said. Police also received a grant of $10,661 for firearms and speed monitoring equipment. The Town Council added $1,839 to round out the grant amount. The speed device will be put in neighborhoods so drivers will be alerted both to the speed limit and to the rate they're traveling. After a while, officers will remove it and then patrol heavily with radar to make sure people are obeying the law, Ernst said. Kenneth City also received $1,000 from the Suncoast National Safety Council to improve DUI enforcement. Some of that money was spent sending Officer Stephanie Hatton to DUI Checkpoint School. When Hatton returned, she organized Kenneth City's first DUI checkpoint last Friday night on 66th Street N in front of the Kmart. After six hours, officers from Kenneth City and other agencies had stopped 508 cars, Ernst said. Officers arrested three drivers on DUI charges and two others for impaired driving, which means their blood alcohol level was not high enough to make them DUI violators, but they were driving erratically, he said. Seven people were arrested on other criminal charges related to the checkpoint, such as trying to avoid it or for battery on a police officer. Six people were picked up on parole violations. An additional 56 citations were issued for such things as open containers of alcohol, unfastened seat belts, driving under suspension or with no license, and driving without insurance. "It was very successful," Ernst said.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
