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Bay Area Teens Top U.S. List Of Holiday Auto Crash Hot Spots

Tribune file photo by KATHY MOORE (2005)

Traffic and technology may both contribute to a high rate of accidents among Tampa-area teenagers.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 3, 2008

TAMPA - If you're a teenager driving in the Tampa Bay area this holiday season, be careful.

Allstate Insurance says the Bay area is the most dangerous place in the nation for teens to drive during the holidays.

Jacksonville ranked second and Orlando third in a report the company released today. Using federal crash statistics and insurance claims in large metro areas during the past eight holiday seasons, Allstate listed the 50 most dangerous areas for teens behind the wheel.

Also in the top 10: Kansas City, Mo.; Birmingham, Ala.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Oklahoma City; Louisville, Ky.; and Richmond, Va.

The safest spots: Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Cleveland.

Bruce Murakami of St. Petersburg knows the grief of a crash caused by a teenager. In November 1998, his wife, Cindy, and 11-year-old daughter, Chelsea, were killed in a wreck caused by a drag-racing Justin Cabezas, then 19.

Since then, Murakami has immersed himself in the issue, starting the nonprofit organization Safe Teen Driver. He and Cabezas travel the nation lecturing teens on safe driving.

Murakami said he sort of expected the Bay area's dubious honor from Allstate.

"This doesn't surprise me," he said. "It's sad. It breaks my heart to hear that. It's definitely an award we don't want to be noted for.

"Kids need more education; more real time behind the wheel," he said. "Driver's education programs in high school have been cut over the years. They may not even exist anymore."

Tampa Police Department Officer Randy Davis, who runs the Teen Scene Driving Academy, doesn't know why Bay area teens are in more wrecks.

He guesses there are a lot of factors.

"No. 1 is there is a tremendous amount of traffic in Tampa," he said. "We also have so many teens on the highways here, and they're taking unnecessary risks when they get into their cars. For some reason, our teens tend to be big-time risk takers. It's the only thing I can figure out."

It's no big secret why teens generally get into wrecks, he said.

"The biggest thing now is technology," he said. "Technology has created so many distractions for these kids. This generation is all about texting, cell phones and iPods, and they all are distractions when driving.

"Factor in that teens are teens and they like to have a good time," he said. "What they forget when they get into their cars is that they need to concentrate on what they are doing."

He said the chances of a teen getting into a wreck increase with the number of teen passengers in the vehicle.

Under a proposed state bill, drivers younger than 18 who have had their licenses for less than six months would be prohibited from carrying passengers younger than 18, unless they are a sibling or child of the driver.

FACES BEHIND SOME OF THE NUMBERS

Here is a sampling of fatal crashes in the Bay area involving teenagers from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day since 2004:

Nov. 28, 2007: David B. Osteen, 18, and Rebecca McCann, 16, of Land O'Lakes are killed and a third person is injured when a tire separates and two vehicles collide on Handcart Road in San Antonio.

Dec. 14, 2006: Kevin Metz, 17, of Wesley Chapel is killed and two others are injured in a single-car crash on County Line Road in Pasco County. Metz loses control of his car after drifts off the road, tries to turn left toward the pavement but overcorrects, causing the sedan to overturn.

Dec. 27, 2005: Kyla Gamble, 16, of Plant City dies when she loses control of a 1997 pickup on a curve on Knights-Griffin Road. Gamble, who is not wearing a seat belt, is thrown from the truck when it flips several times.

Dec. 27, 2004: Leroy J. Lunsford, 18, of St. Petersburg is killed when the driver of the car he is in loses control of the vehicle, which shoots into the air, strikes a tree and flips, ejecting both of them. The crash is in St. Petersburg.

Research by MICHAEL MESSANO

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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