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Deputy's Car Hits Bus, Several Hurt

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By LISA A. DAVIS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 8, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Michael Cavoto had just stepped off the county bus when cars started crashing around him Wednesday.

He didn't see them coming.

"All I felt was a little bit of a jerk and this car rolled up and hit that pole," Cavoto said, gazing toward a telephone pole behind a bus stop on U.S. 19 near Limit Drive. "And this lady in the car was just sitting there and I ran up to see if the lady was OK."

None of the several people injured in the crash was hurt seriously, including sheriff's Deputy James Dattoma, 22, who caused the 11:40 a.m. wreck that also sent him, six bus passengers and the bus driver to local hospitals, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Larry Coggins said.

Rescue workers helped Cynthia K. Young from the smashed 2000 Daewoo she was driving. She was treated for minor injuries at Community Hospital, the patrol said.

The car's back window was shattered. The left side was smashed against the pole, a few feet from a bus-stop sign.

Cavoto had tried unsuccessfully to get into the Daewoo to check on Young. She did not appear to him to be seriously hurt. "I was totally dumbfounded at that moment," said Cavoto, 19, of Hudson.

The Pasco County Public Transportation bus had damage in the rear and left side.

According to the crash investigation Young had stopped behind the bus on U.S. 19 while a passenger got off. Dattoma hit the Daewoo, The cruiser's front passenger side was smashed, deploying the air bag, Coggins said.

"The deputy ran into the back of the Daewoo and pushed it into the bus," Coggins said.

However, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said Dattoma was responding to a call of a man with a gun. He said the sheriff's office will review the crash because a deputy was involved. It's not clear when Dattoma will return to work.

"Our main concern at this time is the safety and well-being of the deputy," Tobin said.

Reporter Ray Reyes contributed to this report. Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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