Car-train collision critically injures two

FROSTPROOF -- A man and woman who were injured early this morning when a freight train collided with their car remain in critical condition, authorities said.

Sex offender accused of pregnant St. Petersburg teen's death

Polk County Sheriff's deputies have arrested a 36-year-old St. Petersburg man for th e murder of a pregnant teen whose body was found Monday in Davenport.

 Aurelio Martinez, (left) a registered sex offender, was arrested at about 7 a.m. on a second degree murder charge for the killing of 17-year-old Bria Metz. Detectives found him hiding in his attic, according to Donna Wood, spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriff''s Office.

Metz, who family members told detectives was three months pregnant, was last seen at about 3 p.m. April 30 leaving the St. Petersburg home she shared with her great-grandmother.

St. Pete teen's body found in Polk County

A body found Monday near Davenport is that of a St. Petersburg teenage girl, authorities said this afternoon.

Officials confirmed through fingerprints that the body was that of 17-year-old Bria Metz, said Donna Wood, spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Road maintenance employees found her about 1 p.m.

Lakeland man kills wife, child, infant in Sunday night murder-suicide

LAKELAND -- A Polk County father murdered his wife and two children, chased his son with a high-powered rifle and killed himself in his front yard Sunday night in what deputies are calling one of their most horrific murder-suicides in history.

Polk Sheriff's Office: Body is likely that of missing 9-year-old boy

WINTER HAVEN -- A 9-year-old boy reported missing late last night is now believed to have drowned in a neighborhood lake.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office says the body pulled from Lake Cannon this morning in Winter Haven is likely that of Sony Georges. An autopsy is being conducted to confirm it.

Plane crashes at Lakeland Sun 'n Fun Fly-In; police blame pilot error

LAKELAND - A pilot attempting his first landing into the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In crashed his light sport plane into a ditch this morning, the second crash connected with the event in three days, Lakeland police said.

Police say pilot error on the part of Matthew Robert Smith, 62, led the plane to overshoot the runway and skip into the ditch. The Malabar, Fla., man cut his arm but had no further injuries. His passenger, West Melbourne resident Herbert Joseph Goodman, 76, was uninjured.

Man drowns after jump into Mirror Lake

 

Divers begin searching for a man who reportedly jumped into Mirror Lake and never surfaced. [CHERIE DIEZ, Times]

ST. PETERSBURG - Rescuers have recovered the body of a man who jumped into Mirror Lake downtown this afternoon.

Witnesses say the man appeared to be intoxicated when he assaulted a woman about 3 p.m. He then told people nearby, "You guys didn't see me,'' and jumped into the lake, witnesses said.

Divers from St. Petersburg Fire Rescue searched the lake for the unidentified man. His body was recovered at about 4:30 p.m., said Lt. Joel Granata.

-- Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer

Missing Georgia chef's truck spotted in Lakeland

A truck belonging to a Georgia man who disappeared on April 3 was seen in Lakeland Wednesday morning.

The gold 1997 Chevy S-10 pickup with the Georgia tag ATL-9105 is registered to Brandon Patton, an executive chef who was last seen in Georgia. He might have been traveling to Tampa to visit his daughter, police said.

Doctor, staff accused of illegal pain-pill distribution

TAMPA -- A local pain clinic physician and three employees were arrested today and charged with conspiracy and illegal distribution of prescription pain pills, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Dr. Jeffrey Friedlander was the licensed physician at Neurology & Pain Center, which operated clinics in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, Sarasota, Orlando and Jacksonville. Authorities say Friedlander and his staff illegally distributed the prescription painkillers oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam and morphine tablets.

Fireball in eastern skies was Delta 2 rocket launch

A fireball arcing over Central Florida early this morning that left some Polk County residents disconcerted enough to call local authorities was actually just a Delta 2 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral. Maybe they should have called On-Star instead.