Palm Harbor Man Dies In Clearwater Crash

Clearwater, FL — One man is dead, another injured and a third behind bars following an early morning crash on Belcher Road Tuesday.

According to the Clearwater Police Department, Jerome Keith Smith, 55, of Palm Harbor was riding a scooter northbound on Belcher Road about 1:45 a.m. when he was hit by a westbound car that ran the red light on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.

The impact of the crash, police said, pushed the scooter into the side of a third vehicle that was also headed north on Belcher Road.

Smith was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg following the crash, but later died from his injuries, police said.

The driver of the third vehicle, a 1995 Lincoln Towncar, was taken to Morton Plant Hospital. Police say that driver, Christopher Cordes, 41, suffered minor injuries.

As for the motorist accused of running the red light, police say Ronald R. Siggeman, 55, showed signs of impairment after he exited his 2006 Chrysler Sebring. Siggeman was subsequently charged with driving on a suspended or revoked license in an accident involving death or serious bodily injury.

“Any further charges will have to wait on the results of a blood draw,” police noted in an email to media.

Siggeman was booked into the Pinellas County Jail Tuesday morning.

No further information is being released at this time.

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