TWO KILLED IN HIGH-SPEED COLLISION
CRASH IN INTERSECTION WHEN SUV RUNS RED LIGHT
Two rear seat passengers died Wednesday night after
the car in which they were riding was broadsided by a speeding
Sport Utility Vehicle that ran a red light on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard
in Clearwater.
The two front seat occupants of the Saturn were
injured, and - after emergency treatment by Clearwater Fire Department
paramedics - were flown by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center
Hospital in St. Petersburg shortly after the 10:32 p.m. wreck.
The driver of the SUV and two passengers ran from
the scene immediately after the collision in the intersection
of Keene Road, but were apprehended by Clearwater Police a short
time later.
The crash happened minutes after the driver of the
SUV - identified as 19-year-old KEO JONQUEL YOUNG (12-18-85) of
699 Newton Avenue South in St. Petersburg - sold crack cocaine
to undercover Clearwater Police Detectives and sped away when
uniformed Police Officers tried to arrest him.
Young - with two passengers in a rented blue Ford
Explorer - met with the undercover Detectives in the parking lot
of a motel at 2061 Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard shortly before 10:30
Wednesday night to sell "crack" cocaine.
When the narcotics transaction was completed, uniformed
Police Officers in marked cruisers moved in to arrest Young. But
he quickly drove the SUV through some shrubs and over a curb,
and pulled into the eastbound lanes of Gulf-to-Bay. Then he quickly
crossed the highway's eastbound lanes and turned westward, and
sped away.
Patrol Officers who'd seen the SUV pull into the
eastbound lanes pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway,
heading eastward for several blocks before they realized the SUV
had disappeared. They reversed their direction and drove westward
and along streets to the north of Gulf-to-Bay, searching for the
dark blue SUV.
Realizing the SUV may have driven westward, several
units began driving west on Gulf-to-Bay when they were advised
by a police dispatcher of a wreck at the intersection of Keene
Road, 6/10ths of a mile from the scene of the drug transaction.
Multiple units arrived at the scene where they found
the SUV abandoned on the west side of the southbound lanes of
Keene Road, its occupants having vanished into the darkness. As
rescuers attended to the four occupants of the Saturn, additional
Patrol Units and Police K-9 Units flooded the area, and captured
all three occupants of the SUV after a short search and foot chase.
Investigators determined that the SUV, driven by
Young, had raced west on Gulf-to-Bay, well in excess of the posted
speed limit of 40 mph. The SUV was in the middle of three westbound
lanes as it approached the intersection of Keene Road, where a
car was stopped for a red light. According to several witnesses,
the SUV veered to its right into the curb lane, and entered the
intersection against a red light, slamming into the driver's side
of the Saturn, that was southbound on Keene Road.
The impact destroyed the Saturn. One rear seat passenger
- tentatively identified as a 20-year-old Clearwater man - was
declared dead at the scene; the other rear seat passenger - a
17-year-old from North Port, Florida - was ejected upon impact.
He was taken to Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, where he
was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The male driver of the Saturn - tentatively identified
as a 19-year-old St. Petersburg man, and the female front seat
passenger - believed to be an 18-year-old from Michigan - were
flown to Bayfront. Their conditions are not known.
After the brief foot chase, the three occupants
of the SUV were taken to Clearwater Police Department Headquarters
where they were interviewed. Officers recovered the money used
to buy the cocaine from Young, and found marijuana in the SUV.
Young, the driver, has been charged with two counts
of Sale and Possession of Cocaine and one count of Felony Leaving
the Scene of an Accident with Serious Injuries or Death. Additional
felony charges against him are pending. The two passengers of
the SUV have not been charged in connection with the crash.
The intersection of Gulf-to-Bay and Keene Road was
closed to all traffic for the duration of the investigation, and
re-opened at 4 a.m. today.
This investigation is on-going. For additional information,
please contact Public Information Officer Wayne Shelor at (727)-562-4333.
WAYNE SHELOR
Public Information Officer