1 Killed In Wrong-Way Crash That Closed Howard Frankland Bridge

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- A Pinellas Park resident is dead and a St. Petersburg resident is in critical condition following a wrong-way crash that closed the Howard Frankland Bridge all morning.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, just before 6 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19, a 2010 Chrysler was traveling south in the northbound lanes across the bridge from Tampa and collided head on with a 2016 Ford van. The vehicles rotated and struck a 2018 GMC SUV.

The driver of the Chrysler,46-year-old Renard Antonio McGriff of Pinellas Park, died at the scene and the driver of the van, 44-year-old Mark Joseph Beale of St. Petersburg, was taken to Tampa General Hospital in critical condition.

The driver of the SUV, 40-year-old Ozgur Akan of Alpharetta, Georgia, was not injured.

The FHP believes McGriff was impaired when he began driving the wrong way on the bridge. Toxicology tests will be done to verify troopers' suspicions.

Images via FHP

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)