Motorcyclist dead, driver injured after St. Petersburg crash

A Saturday evening crash left a motorcyclist dead and a car driver injured after they collided on 49th Street N in St. Petersburg, police said in a news release.

The driver, behind the wheel of a red Volkswagen sedan, was traveling north around 7 p.m. and turned left onto westbound 9th Avenue N into the path of a Harley Davidson motorcycle that was headed south on 49th Street N.

The motorcyclist, whom police identified as 59-year-old Keith Thibodaux, was pronounced dead at the scene by rescue personnel. The crash occurred less than two weeks before his 60th birthday.

The vehicle driver, who police have not publicly identified, was transported to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg with injuries that are not life-threatening.

There have been at least 65 fatal crashes in Pinellas County this year — killing at least seven cyclists, nine motorcyclists and 26 pedestrians, according to preliminary data provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. There have been more than 6,200 injuries from crashes in the county this year.

The investigation into Saturday night’s crash is ongoing.