Scooter Driver Dies In Wreck On Countryway Boulevard

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WESTCHASE - A teenage driver fatally struck a man today who was riding a motorbike along Countryway Boulevard, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Sixteen-year-old John Holland Jr., a 10th-grader at Alonso High School, was driving a car north on the roadway when he lost control for unknown reasons, veering into the southbound lane and striking the man who was headed south on a scooter or moped, a sheriff's report states.

Holland's vehicle then went off the road into a pond, where he and his 16-year-old passenger, Trevor Ekovich, also a 10th-grader at Alonso High School, were able to escape unharmed, the report states.

The driver of the motor bike, who died at the scene, was not identified today because deputies were trying to contact next of kin.

The crash took place around 3:17 p.m. on Countryway Boulevard just south of Woodbay Drive, halting traffic along the roadway.

Friends and family of Holland and Ekovich stood around watching as deputies investigated the crash.

"It's just sad," said Delia Huffman, 15, who lives in the nearby Woodbay neighborhood.

Jordan Lampley, 15, of Town 'N Country, said he is friends with the teenagers.

"Johnny and Trevor are really responsible," he said. "They didn't do it on purpose. They're good kids."

The accident happened in an area where residents have asked for traffic calming measures. A meeting was held in April, and residents are voting on possible calming methods.

Rhoda Donnelly, 41, who has lived for about seven years in Woodbay, said Countryway Boulevard might have once been built for residential use, but it has since become a major thoroughfare.

Motorists speeding along the roadway have long been a problem, she said.

"We just think about where we are going and not thinking about the consequences," she said.

Debbie Carter, a sheriff's spokeswoman, said the investigation is in the preliminary stages, and it is too soon to know whether speed or any other factors contributed to the crash.