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Train Fatality May Have Been Suicide, Investigators Say

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 29, 2007

Updated: 10/29/2007 03:34 pm

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TAMPA - A man killed when his pickup stopped on train tracks as an Amtrak locomotive approached Sunday was identified today as Stanley Pinder, 69, of Brandon. Pinder's Dalmatian, Freckles, was with him at the time and also was killed on impact, authorities said.

Pinder co-owned Gaspar's Cigar Shop on West Shore Boulevard. A man who answered the phone there this afternoon declined to comment on Pinder's death but did confirm the victim opened the shop just three months ago.

"We're still trying to sort this out," the unidentified man said.

Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said Pinder, of 4128 Alafia Blvd., was identified through dental records and fingerprints.

"There was severe trauma," sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said. Identification efforts took nearly 24 hours. Deputies released the name this afternoon.

The crash occurred on a private drive off Broadway Avenue between Falkenburg Road and Queen Palm Drive, Callaway said. Pinder pulled onto the tracks, facing south, and was in the driver's seat when the truck was struck broadside by the westbound locomotive.

He died at the scene. Two passengers on the train, which was en route from Miami to Tampa, complained of minor pains but were not hospitalized. The train carried 144 passengers, Callaway said.
Investigators say it might have been suicide.

"Some witnesses we've talked to say the man may have stopped purposefully on the tracks," Callaway said. "We're not sure. We're still investigating."

The train was traveling about 50 mph, he said.

Pinder and Davelis "D.C." Goutoufas opened Gaspar's Cigar Shop at 3675 S. West Shore Blvd. on July 4. The business offered cigars from humidors along with private lockers and rooms in which to smoke and play cards and dominoes, according to a Tribune article published in July.

Pinder was identified in the article as a former marine engineer and cigar connoisseur who saw a market among the wealthy residents of South Tampa.

"It's sad news," Goutoufas said this afternoon. "It's very sad news right now, unexpected. He was a good friend and I'll miss him a lot. He was a great man."

Train versus vehicle crashes are not that uncommon in Hillsborough County. From 1997 through July, there were 34 fatal incidents at crossings in Hillsborough, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

For the same period there were 30 in Polk County, nine in Pasco County and none in Pinellas County.
In Hillsborough County, Pinder became the third fatality in 28 accidents involving vehicles at railroad crossings since 2004, officials said.

In July, an Amtrak train derailed near Plant City after it collided with a truck, killing the driver. A day earlier, a train hit a vehicle and killed four people in Lakeland.

Tribune researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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