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SUV, Motorcycle Collision Kills 2 On U.S. 19 In Palm Harbor

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 7, 2008

Updated: 01/07/2008 02:49 pm

PALM HARBOR – A motorcyclist and the driver of a sport utility vehicle were killed this morning when their vehicles collided at a U.S. 19 intersection and burst into flames, authorities said.

Witnesses said the motorcycle – a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja – was going in excess of 100 mph on U.S. 19 when it broadsided a 1994 Chevrolet Suburban that was turning in front of it at Coral Landings Boulevard, authorities said.

Both the motorcycle and the sport utility vehicle burst into flames, said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Coggins. The bodies are unidentifiable, so the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office will have to verify who the men were, he said.

Elizabeth Monforti, spokeswoman for Palm Harbor Fire Rescue, said the motorcyclist may have gone through one of the Suburban's passenger side windows in the 11 a.m. wreck, but the patrol could not confirm that.

The driver of the sport utility vehicle was still inside his vehicle when it stopped moving; the motorcyclist was nearby but outside, Coggins said.

Coggins said that based on damage to the Suburban, investigators could tell the Kawasaki was going at "an extreme high rate of speed."

The northbound lanes of U.S. 19, where the wreck occurred, were closed from Tampa Road to Coral Landings Boulevard, Coggins said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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