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St. Pete bus strikes vehicle; 5 injured

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

This late-model Buick was struck by a Pinellas Suncoast Transity Authority bus Tuesday.

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TBO.com

Published: August 25, 2009

Updated: 08/25/2009 10:50 pm

ST. PETERSBURG - Five people were injured Tuesday evening after a head-on collision between a bus and a car, according to St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue.

The crash happened about 6:30 p.m. as Albert Ortiz drove his Pinellas Suncoast Transity Authority bus east on 15th Avenue South. He collided with a 1990 Buick driven by Shanikwa Thomas, who was heading the opposite way with her two small children.

The impact drove the Buick backward about 80 feet from the point of impact.

St. Petersburg police said the accident happened after Thomas, 24, of St. Petersburg, crossed a double yellow line and attempted to pass three vehicles.

All three people in the Buick _Thomas and her two children, Leandre Grant, 4, and Caliaha Thomas, 6 _ were injured. All were taken to Bayfront Medical Center; Thomas in critical condition and Leandre and Caliaha in serious condition.

The bus contained three passengers and Ortiz, the driver. Two of the passengers weren't injured. Ortiz, 27, and Donald Seay, 49, were taken to St. Anthony's for non-life threatening injuries.

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