One dead in head-on collision

A woman dies and four others, including two children, are seriously injured in the crash on U.S. 41.

By BRADY DENNIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 22, 2000

LAND O'LAKES -- A head-on collision Tuesday afternoon on U.S. 41 in Pasco County left one woman dead and four others seriously injured.

Witnesses and Florida Highway Patrol officials said the driver of one of the cars involved in the accident was seen driving erratically moments before the collision.

Troopers said a purple Chevrolet Cavalier was heading north on U.S. 41 around 6 p.m. when it crossed the center line and collided with a white Chevrolet Corsica that was heading south.

"She passed me on the right side, over in the grass," said Ron Nichols of Spring Hill, who was driving in front of the Cavalier at the time of the accident. "I was blinking my lights, honking my horn, just trying to get her attention.

"I've never seen anyone drive like that in my life. It looked like she had a death wish."

The accident happened on a stretch of the road just south of State Road 52, near the county jail. Troopers said the Cavalier crossed the center line and struck the other car, which witnesses said had four people inside, including two children.

The woman who died was a front-seat passenger in the Corsica. There were two girls in the back seat. Their mother was driving, witnesses said.

Investigators had not released the name of the woman who died, but witnesses said she was in her 60s.

The driver of the Cavalier and the three surviving passengers in the Corsica were airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, troopers said.

Troopers said the Cavalier appeared to be at fault.

They also are investigating whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident.

One investigator said papers found in the Cavalier indicated that the driver was released Tuesday morning from the Hillsborough County Jail on a drunken driving charge.

Trooper Douglas Guy said the Cavalier driver's last name was West and that she was 21.

Officials at St. Joseph's Hospital said Tuesday night that a Shanna J. West was being treated in the emergency room after being airlifted to the hospital.

Just 12 hours earlier, a Shanna Jane West, 21, from Brandon, was released from the Hillsborough County Jail on a charge of driving under the influence. She had posted $500 bail.

Records show that Shanna Jane West was arrested in May for driving with a suspended or revoked license near Ybor City.

Witnesses who spoke to victims in the Corsica said the group was coming from Dade City and headed to nearby Land O'Lakes High School to accept a scholarship for one of the passengers, a 14-year-old girl.

They said the car was driven by a Hispanic woman who said she was the mother of the two children in the back seat.

- Times staff writer Angela Moore and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

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