Florida

ST. PETERSBURG — Four people, including two children, escaped serious injury Thursday when the minivan they were riding in flipped over on Interstate 275, troopers said.

Crash investigators say the driver of a four-door Toyota tried to change lanes while driving north on Interstate 275 near Fourth Street in Pinellas County. The Toyota clipped the right side of a 2001 Chevrolet minivan, which was carrying four people from Lutz.

Officials with the Florida Highway Patrol said the minivan’s driver, 52-year-old Patrick Peters, was driving on a suspended license.

The impact sent the van spinning, and it eventually rolled over.

(Read the full post about ‘Minivan rolls over; six escape serious injury in two-vehicle accident’…)

A 27-year-old Tampa man is recovering this morning after being shot overnight, police said.

Brian Haley, 7012 Tidewater Trail, Tampa, dropped off a friend on the 3600 block of E 25th Avenue about 3:40 a.m. and was shot about a block later, according to a police incident report.

Haley ran back to his friend’s house and collapsed.

(Read the full post about ‘Tampa man, 27, shot overnight’…)

TAMPA — A 61-year-old Tennessee woman died in a four-car pileup on Causeway Boulevard on Thursday night, and her husband, the driver, was left with serious injuries, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

Thomas W. Glenn, 64, of Franklin, Tenn., and his wife, Marrian F. Glenn, were traveling north on Faulkenberg Road approaching Causeway Boulevard in a 2007 four-door Mercury when they were struck on the right side by a 2007 Toyota Tacoma traveling west on Causeway Boulevard. The Tacoma’s driver, Eric Samuel Hornsby, 31, of Gibsonton, was not injured, the FHP report said.

A third vehicle, a 2003 Ford F-150 driven by Demetrius Lynn Crawford, 45, of St.

(Read the full post about ‘Four-car accident leaves one dead’…)

[Images courtesy CrimeStoppers Tampa Bay]

Authorities believe the same person is responsible for a string of armed robberies in which a gunman steals prescription drugs from local pharmacies.

Now, Pinellas and Hillsborough law enforcement officials are asking for the public’s help in finding him. And they’re offering a reward for anyone giving good information leading to his identification and arrest.

The armed robberies, which authorities say began on July 3 and have continued as recently as Thursday, include thefts of OxyContin from the following stores:

• July 3 - Publix Pharmacy, 12139 Linebaugh Ave, Tampa.

(Read the full post about ‘Authorities hunt gunman in pharmacy robberies’…)

TAMPA — Two bodies, both adult men, were recovered from a mobile home fire early this morning, officials said.

The identities of the victims have not been released, said Ray Yeakley, spokesman for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. Rescuers initially suspected a possible third victim in the fire in Hi Pines Mobile Home Park, 12224 Florida Ave. N, but Yeakley said there were no other people involved. He said the victims were hosting a visitor, but he or she left before the fire.

Rescuers arrived at the mobile home about 2 a.m. and encountered heavy flames and smoke. When two firefighters first entered the home, a large oxygen cylinder inside exploded and the firefighters were removed by backup rescuers.

(Read the full post about ‘Two dead after Tampa mobile home fire’…)

John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his Vice-Presidential candidate. Sarah Palin is from Alaska. Mrs Palin’s husband is a blue collar union worker for BP. She is tough on corruption and has taken a hard line against VECO. Here is a Reuters article on Forbes about Sarah Palin. Barbados will be impacted whoever wins the Presidency

Barack Obama wants to clean up the Barbados Offshore scene, and Sarah Palin is pursuing VECO.

This is an old story involving an owner of Sandy Lane, but I don’t recall ever seeing it in the local papers. According to reports, wealthy money manager David Morrison was charged with assaulting a maid at Sandy Lane by the Royal Barbados Police Force. Mr Morrison subsequently settled with the maid. I noted that the hotel called the police, and that one of the owners of Sandy Lane sued Mr Morrison in a London court over the incident. Click on the image to go the Sandy Lane web site. .

(Read the full post about ‘Sex, Money and Sandy Lane - The Money Manager and the Maid’…)

TAMPA — A 28-year-old construction worker was seriously injured this morning when a small piece of metal fell from the 36-story Element building at 808 N Franklin St., piercing his helmet and head, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Rafael Villa Senor Cararez was taken to Tampa General Hospital in serious condition, police said. Cararez was unconscious and barely breathing when rescuers found him on the 10th floor, the metal still lodged in his head.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the incident.

– Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer

[Brent Fries puts up plywood on the home owned by his brother in law after a fire destroyed it, killing the friend of a tenant inside. Kathleen Flynn, Times]

Fire investigators are trying to determine what caused an overnight house fire that claimed one life and heavily damaged a North Tampa home.

Fire crews arrived at 1306 E Poinsettia Ave. about 1:20 a.m. and began battling the flames that had overtaken the single-story home. Once inside, they found the body of a 47-year-old woman, Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Bill Wade said.

(Read the full post about ‘Woman dies in North Tampa house fire’…)

ST. PETERSBURG — Police arrested a St. Petersburg man in connection with the shooting death of 28-year-old Chiquita Robinson, who was gunned down during an armed robbery earlier this month.

Jeffrey M. Casteel, 23, of 2901 Emerson Ave. S, was arrested by officials with the St. Petersburg Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Office on Tuesday.

Robinson, of St. Petersburg, died Sunday at Bayfront Medical Center. She was shot in the abdomen Aug. 10 during a robbery at 4930 Fifth Ave. S, police said. She had previously been treated at Bayfront and released, but returned Sunday, after complaining of pain.

Online jail records show Casteel was charged with felony armed robbery and first-degree murder.

(Read the full post about ‘Arrest made in St. Petersburg armed robbery and homicide’…)