Deadly Crash Closes Part of East Lake Rd.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash involving a pickup truck on East Lake Road. One person was killed in the single vehicle accident which happened at 2:45 p.m., according to East Lake Fire Chief Tom Jamison.

Florida Highway Patrol Spokesperson Steve Gaskins says a white 2006 Ford Ranger pickup truck was driving in the northbound lane and veered into the grassy median. While in the median, the driver over corrected and went back across the northbound lanes and rolled over several times.

Gaskins says three males were in the cab of the truck and a male and a female were riding in the rear bed of the truck.

One male died at the scene. The other four victims were transported to local hospitals as trauma alerts because of the seriousness of the accident, according to Jamison. However, the four other victims did not suffer life-threatening injuries. They are in serious condition at St. Joseph's and Bayonet Point Hospitals, according to Gaskins.

A woman who volunteers at the East Lake Library happened to leave the library shortly after the accident. She told Palm Harbor Patch that she saw one of the victims laying in a nearby ditch. 

"All I could think was, 'What if it had been mine?' " she said, as she sat outside the Ridgemoor Starbucks with her friends.

Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies have closed the northbound lanes of East Lake Road beginning at Ridgemoor Boulevard for the investigation. Jamison says investigators will most likely be at the scene for a few hours, which means it could impact the evening commute. The accident caused backups in the south and northbound lanes of East Lake Road.

Palm Harbor Patch is continuing to gather more information about this accident. We will update when new information comes in.