Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008

Boy on bike struck by car

Teen struck by car, is flown to area hospital BRADENTON -

A teenage boy was flown to a hospital after he was struck by a car when riding a bicycle into oncoming traffic on Manatee Avenue West Friday evening.

According to Bradenton Police Department officers on the scene, witnesses said the 14-year-old Elijah Torres was riding a bike heading north at the intersection of 39th Street West when motorists had the right of way on a green traffic signal at about 6:40 p.m.

Pieces of the bike were strewn around the roadway as paramedics rushed the boy to a landing site for a helicopter.

The boy was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg with non-life threatening injuries, according to authorities.

The driver of the car, 60-year-old Gary Adams, was taken to Blake Medical Center with minor injuries.

Willie Hubbard of St. Petersburg was sitting at the red light on 39th when he saw the crash.

"The bike flew in the air. Everything was flying - pieces of the bike, shoes and the bike seat. It was like a tornado or something picked him up. It was the freakiest thing I've ever seen," he said.

Witnesses said the boy broke his fall by landing on the trunk of the four-door, maroon Buick that struck him.

Lonnie James of Tampa also witnessed the crash when he was sitting at the intersection.

"(The boy) came riding across the road. (The driver) didn't see him until he made contact," he said. "I don't know if (the boy) thought he could make it across. There was nothing the driver could do, but slow down to ease the impact."

Woman hurt in collision

BRADENTON - A woman was taken to a hospital Friday with minor injuries after police say her convertible clipped the side of a tanker truck and careened off the road.

The accident occurred at around 9:20 a.m. at Manatee Avenue West and 43rd Street West.

Witnesses told police when a tanker proceeded through a green light eastbound on Manatee Avenue, the driver of a Ford Mustang convertible made a right on red and clipped the side of the tanker, according to Bradenton Police Officer David Grubbs.

The Mustang's driver's side front end was mangled and the vehicle jumped a curb and collided with a small tree on Manatee Avenue.

Emergency personnel transported the woman to Blake Medical Center by ambulance for observation, according to Manatee County Public Safety officials.

Grubbs said she will most likely be cited on a charge of failure to yield right of way. The driver of the tanker was not injured.

Baseball bat battery

BRADENTON - A Bradenton man has been arrested on a battery charge after police said he broke his half-brother's arms with a baseball bat, according to a Bradenton Police report.

Bradenton Police arrested Evan Shawn Jones, 40, on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Police say at 12:15 a.m., Friday , Jones got into a fight over a cell phone charger with his half-brother, with whom he lives in the 1100 block of Eighth Street East.

During the fight, Jones got a baseball bat and beat the victim with it, breaking both his arms, the police report said. Jones was being held in the Manatee County jail without bond.