Pileup on U.S. 19 sends five people to hospitals

One of the injured was a Lealman fire lieutenant who was assaulted by a combative crash victim, officials said.

[Times photo: Michael Rondou] The wreckage from the four-car crash litters U.S. 19 Monday. The accident happened just south of Haines Road during rush hour.

By LEANORA MINAI and NEGAR TEKEEI

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 30, 2001

PINELLAS PARK -- Five people were treated for injuries Monday after a four-car crash that blocked rush hour traffic on U.S. 19 for several hours.

One of the victims was a Lealman fire lieutenant who was assaulted at the scene by a crash victim who kicked and punched emergency workers.

"He was fighting like he was trying to get away," said 41-year-old Bob Johnson, a witness from St. Petersburg.

The names of the motorists -- a woman and three men -- were not available Monday night. They were being treated at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

The fire lieutenant, Mike Burgmaier, was taken to Northside Hospital & Heart Institute. He was in stable condition, said Pinellas Park Sgt. Dan Levy.

The chain-reaction crash happened at 4:28 p.m. in front of Just Brakes, 6790 U.S. 19 N.

Maren Mirtywek was driving southbound and stopped at a red light at 70th Avenue N, he said. When the light turned green, Mirtywek accelerated. At the same time, he said, the left side of his truck was clipped by a speeding red truck.

The red truck crossed the median and crashed into a Ford station wagon and Toyota Tercel in the northbound lanes, police said. The red truck flipped over.

Doug Ruppel, 48, of St. Petersburg, was driving south and came upon smoke and debris. He tried to help the driver of Ford, whose face was bloodied.

Two victims were flown to Bayfront. The rest were taken by ambulance to Bayfront and Northside hospitals.

The crash brought out scores of onlookers.

Drewery Jones, a cook at Hickory Smokehouse on U.S. 19, was washing dishes when he heard the crash.

"It sounded like a shotgun," Jones said. "I ran out, and I saw glass everywhere."

Jones saw the driver of the red truck fighting with rescue workers, he said. The driver was handcuffed and taken to Bayfront, Jones said.

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