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Man Dies, Kids Hurt in St. Petersburg Crash Involving PSTA Bus

March 31, 2011 - St. Petersburg, FL - A man died after a serious accident in St. Petersburg involving a PSTA bus and a passenger vehicle.

ABCActionNews.com released a news report stating that Mike Gawthrop, 50, died on Friday, March 18^th, after succumbing to injuries suffered in the March 17^th accident in St. Petersburg.

Police have said that Gawthrop was operating a 2006 Saturn when he failed to stop at a red light and entered the path of an oncoming PSTA bus. Reports show that the fatal accident occurred at 37^th St. North and 5^th Avenue.

The PSTA bus was heading north on 37^th Street North and had halted at a traffic light. The bus driver, Darlene Seay, 44, proceeded through the intersection when the light changed to green, at which point Gawthrop's vehicle entered the intersection.

The force of the impact caused severe destruction to the Saturn, which, in addition to Gawthrop, was carrying 4 child passengers, all under the age of 12. Gawthrop and his 10-year-old female passenger were sent to Bayfront Medical Center. They were reported to be in critical condition. Gawthrop passed away the following day at the hospital. The 3 other children suffered minor injuries and were rushed to All Children's Hospital for evaluation.

Police said the bus-which broadsided the passenger vehicle-hit a curb and then crashed into a building. There were 2 passengers on board and it is unclear whether anyone on the PSTA bus suffered injuries in the crash.

There are charges pending in the accident, but it has not been specified who would be the subject of any traffic charges. Alcohol was not a factor in this fatal accident.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' 2009 Traffic Crash Statistics Report, there were 197,214 traffic crashes resulting in injury and 2,563 fatalities as a result of vehicle accidents in Florida.

As a service to the residents of St. Petersburg, our firm will frequently publish blogs about local traffic accidents. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of motor vehicle accidents that occur in Florida that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.

Common accidents include, but are not limited to: 

• single-car accidents;
• hit-and-run accidents;
• accidents caused by hazardous road conditions; and
• accidents caused by aggressive driving or distracted drivers. 

If you have been named in this blog or you are the victim's family member or friend and would like the blog removed from our website, please feel free to contact us and we will promptly accommodate your request.

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