FHP seizes vehicle in fatal hit-and-run crash

NEW PORT RICHEY -- The Florida Highway Patrol used a court order this weekend to seize a silver-gray Pontiac Grand Prix that troopers believe was involved in the fatal crash that killed motorcyclist Nicholas Burns Jr. on U.S. 19 last week.

Witnesses described the vehicle as a gray sedan with a small spoiler on the rear trunk and a damaged driver's side door from the crash. According to an FHP warrant made public today, a tow truck driver told troopers on Saturday that he had towed a vehicle matching that description.

FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins told the Times today that troopers learned there may have been an attempt to repair the vehicle. So on Saturday troopers went to the address where the Grand Prix was towed -- 9930 Woodridge Court in Port Richey -- and found the car in the garage, according to the warrant.

Two small children at the residence, the warrant said, asked the trooper if he was there to see the car involved in the crash with the motorcycle. The car was a rental, the warrant said.

The Grand Prix had a small spoiler on the trunk and a damaged driver's side door, the warrant said, matching witness descriptions at the scene.

But the residents denied driving or renting the vehicle. The identity of the driver, and whoever leased the vehicle, remains unknown, according to the FHP. Witnesses have given conflicting statements about whether the driver was a man or a woman, Gaskins told the Times.

The warrant said the owner of the vehicle, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, wasn't any help. Enterprise refused to identify who rented the car and refused to let FHP take the vehicle, according to the warrant.

Gaskins said troopers had to babysit the vehicle for about 12 hours until the warrant was written up and signed by a judge on Sunday. The vehicle was seized and will undergo forensic testing, Gaskins said, in the hopes of identifying the driver.

The crash occurred June 18. Burns was headed north on U.S. 19, authorities say, when a westbound silver vehicle ran a stop sign at Bougenville Avenue, crossed into the intersection and into the motorcycle's path.

His motorcycle struck the driver's side door. The vehicle did not stop or offer any help, according to authorities, and instead fled south on U.S. 19.

Burns, a 22-year-old Marine and Citrus County resident, was left brain dead, doctors told his family. Dozens crowded the hallways of a St. Petersburg hospital to say their goodbyes. Burns died on June 19.

-- Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer