Two motorcyclists critical after car swerves to avoid pedestrian in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG — Two motorcyclists were injured Tuesday night when a car swerved into their paths to avoid hitting a pedestrian, authorities said.

Just before 10:30 p.m., Jacklyn Nugent, 21, of St. Petersburg was driving a 2006 Chevrolet sedan east on Central Avenue when she came upon Robert Ford, 61, no known address, pushing a shopping cart in the road near Sunset Drive S.

Police said Nugent swerved to avoid hitting him but drove into the path of two motorcyclists, Sherman Miller, 35, and Matthew Jones, 29, who police said were going east at a high rate of speed along Central.

Miller's motorcycle hit the back of Nugent's sedan first and flew through the back windshield into the backseat, police said. Jones tried to avoid the crash but struck the back of Miller's bike and was thrown into the road.

Both men were wearing helmets and taken to Bayfront Medical Center with injuries. They were listed Wednesday morning in critical condition.

Nugent and Ford were not injured. The investigation continues.

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Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported Matthew Jones' age.