Three people hospitalized following car accident

[Times photo | Lara Cerri]

Roads are open to traffic again after three people were hospitalized following a car accident at I-175 and Dr. Martin Luther King Street S this morning, according to St. Petersburg police. People nearby heard the crash around 11 a.m.

Police said a truck exiting I-175 broadsided an SUV, causing it to flip and become airborn. The SUV landed on a bicycle rider. He was transported to Bayfront Medical Center. Police said the bicyclist sustained life-threatening injuries but is still alive. Two other victims were also transported.

Police had blocked off the exit to Martin Luther King Street S. Fifth Avenue S eastbound from was also blocked earlier today.

The 1,000-gallon Isuzu grease truck belongs to the FCS Grease Demons, a Clearwater company that extracts grease from grease traps at restaurants. Some of the truck’s contents spilled and the Fire Department was called to hose the street down, according to a police news release.

Debris from the accident spilled across the roadway. Both the SUV and the truck overturned, leaving windshields and windows missing or crushed. Twisted metal, a plastic crate and a football were on the roadway.

A bicycle tire was visible from underneath of the SUV. A straw hat was nearby.

Joseph Walker, 29, an employee at the nearby Touched by an Angel Ministries, said he heard three loud crashes and called police at 11:03 a.m. as he walked to the scene. Soon a crowd of about 20 people, including motorists who had stopped, began to form.

He and another man tried to aid the bicyclist, who was lying on his back, until paramedics arrived. Walker said his eyes were glazed over.

“He wasn’t conscious, he wasn’t breathing, responding, nothing,” Walker said. “I started praying.”

Robby McRanie, 40, one of the company owners, said the driver called to inform him of the accident. McRanie was on the scene with employees to remove left over grease from the truck.

“He wasn’t hurt bad,” said McRanie, who saw the driver shortly before he was taken to the hospital. “I asked him if he was all right and he said yes.”