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Crash Is Building's 13th

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By VALERIE KALFRIN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 23, 2007

TAMPA - To the Cusmano family, the building they own at North 21st Street and East Columbus Drive might as well contain a giant magnet.

A car in a traffic crash Monday plowed through the old storefront grocery in the vacant structure - the 13th wreck at that site in 22 years, according to Tribune archives.

No one was seriously hurt.

'It's unbelievable,' said Toni Cusmano, 51, whose husband, Joseph J. Cusmano, is one of the building's owners. 'Very rarely does a year pass that a car doesn't drive into that thing.'

Tampa police cited Maria Torres, 19, of Riverview with running a red light after the crash about 11:10 a.m.

The building sits at the corner of two busy one-way streets. The last crash there occurred in March after a Freightliner and a sport utility vehicle collided, officials said.

'The only way they can swerve is right into the building,' Toni Cusmano said.

According to police and Tampa Fire Rescue, Torres was traveling south on North 21st Street in a Honda Civic when she failed to stop at the light at Columbus. Joe Hankins, 67, was driving east on Columbus in a Dodge Ram pickup and struck the Civic, propelling the car into the building.

Rescuers closed the intersection for about an hour to free Torres from her car and remove the car from the building. Hankins and his passenger, Stephanie Washington, 34, were not hurt, officials said.

Torres was treated at Tampa General Hospital, a spokeswoman said.

Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade said city code enforcement officers had inspected the building and found it structurally stable.

Built in 1925, the building is worth about $88,000, Hillsborough County property records show.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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