Man killed in Clearwater when car runs into bus stop

CLEARWATER - A car hydroplaned into a bus shelter Sunday evening, killing a 72-year-old man.

The accident happened at 6:30 p.m., as heavy rains were passing through the area. Police said it's possible the man was trying to get out of the rain when the crash occurred.

Police did not identify the man pending notification of his family.

According to police, Katerina Wyakimovich, 31, of Tarpon Springs, was headed eastbound on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard near Park Place Boulevard when she hit a patch of standing water and began to hydroplane.

Wyakimovich lost control of the 2005 Nissan convertible she was driving, left the roadway and hit a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus shelter on the south side of Gulf-to-Bay.

The man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was hit by the car and debris from the bus shelter.

It did not appear that alcohol was a factor, police said. Wyakimovich consented to have her blood alcohol level tested.

Two eastbound lanes were closed for two and a half hours while police investigated.

- Rita Farlow, Times staff writer