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Driver Dies After Hitting Gas Pump

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By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: March 5, 2009

SHADY HILLS - A man was killed Wednesday afternoon when he lost control of a sport utility vehicle and crashed into a gas station pump on Shady Hills Road.

Robert G. Jenkins, 41, of Spring Hill, was approaching Little Ranch Road when he lost control of a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer and crashed into the Marathon gas station at 16621 Shady Hills Road, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Jenkins died at the scene, and the crash caused a minor fuel leak.

The 1:05 p.m. incident could have been worse, said Linda Almond, who was waiting for her granddaughter's school bus when the crash happened. The gas station also is a school bus stop in the rural area northwest of the Suncoast Parkway.

"I wanted to see if someone could radio the bus driver, so the kids wouldn't have to see Jenkins' body under a sheet, but the bus came a little early," Almond said, adding that some of the River Ridge High School students knew Jenkins' family.

"They were freaking out and crying. That's not something high school kids need to see."

Almond said a small fire was ignited when Jenkins' Blazer hit the gas pump, but Pasco Fire Rescue workers, housed in a nearby station, were on the scene rapidly and doused the flames quickly.

Fortunately, the station's pumps were nearly out of fuel, Trooper H.N. Glenny said.

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613.

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