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TAMPA — While you're giving thanks this week, law enforcement will be out in force to make sure those celebrations don't turn into an alcohol-fueled hazard on the roads.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Florida Highway Patrol, Tampa Police Department, University of South Florida Police Department and the Plant City Police Department will have heightened patrols throughout Hillsborough County this week. They'll focus on northern Hillsborough between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday and eastern Hillsborough from 10 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday.
TAMPA — A man charged in a hit-and-run accident that critically injured a University of Tampa student and his friend faces upgraded charges after making his first appearance in court Monday morning.
Andres Trujillo, 27, faces a charge of leaving the scene of an accident with death — rather than serious bodily injury —because one of his victims will be taken off of life support, assistant state attorney Linda Grabel said in the courtroom as she held back tears.
TAMPA — The Florida Highway Patrol released the names of those involved in Sunday's van crash on Interstate 275 that sent all 15 passengers and the driver to local hospitals.
At about 1 p.m., Carlisa Wilson, 22, of St. Petersburg, was driving the 1998 Ford van south on I-275, north of Westshore Boulevard, in the center lane. Wilson was driving a group of 15 from the Childs Park Rattlers youth football and cheerleading organization home after a Lakeland competition, authorities said.
TAMPA — Tampa police detectives on Sunday arrested 27-year-old Andres Trujillo for involvement in a hit-and-run accident early Saturday that critically injured a University of Tampa student and his friend.
Trujillo hung his head and apologized as he left police headquarters on his way to the Orient Road Jail.
TAMPA — Ruthie Maynard-Jones was driving behind a passenger van filled with children from a youth sports league on Interstate 275 Sunday when a rear tire blew on the van.
She watched in horror as the driver lost control of the van, sending it crashing into a concrete barrier and then flipping on its side.
TAMPA — Police have identified the University of Tampa student and a friend who were critically injured in a hit-and-run accident on Kennedy Boulevard early Saturday.
Erik V. Nicoletti, 20, and Cree Alisha Riley, 19, were walking just after 1 a.m. on the north sidewalk of Kennedy near North Boulevard when a gray sedan traveling west on Kennedy veered over the curb and onto the sidewalk, striking both victims at about 30 mph, said Lt. Jack Diaz.
TAMPA — A Hillsborough County Regional Transit Authority bus struck and killed a pedestrian near the University of South Florida early Saturday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported.
At 6:19 a.m., the out-of-service bus with no passengers hit Robert L. Lewis, 66, on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard across from the James A. Haley VA Medical Center, sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said. Lewis was crossing Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and apparently didn't see the bus coming, McKinnon said.
TAMPA — An 18-year-old is in serious condition at Tampa General Hospital and another is in jail after police say the pair were trying to steal a bicycle until one got hit by a car trying to get away.
According to Tampa Police, Demarcus Williams left his bike in the front yard of 2304 Curtis St. and when he returned he saw two men running away with it. Williams chased the pair to the intersection of N 24th Street and Osborne Avenue.
TAMPA — Between stops in his globe-trotting life as an Internet mogul, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales came to Ybor City on Friday to launch a new Web site that offers a wide range of resources for the homeless in the Tampa Bay area.
The new site, tampabayhome less.wikia.com, was introduced after the Hillsborough Homeless Coalition's annual meeting at Teatro on Seventh, a restaurant on Eighth Avenue.
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