Pasco man killed in Hudson crash was Navy vet, 'proud American,' wife says

HUDSON — Joey Martino was a warm-hearted, 'proud American' with a love for the Miami Dolphins, his wife Brittany Martino said Monday.

Brittany Martino, 30, survived a three-vehicle crash Sunday night, after a pickup truck careened into the couple's car. The incident happened just after 8:15 p.m. on State Road 52 at Chenwood Avenue in Hudson, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Joseph 'Joey' Martino, 33, died at the scene, and Brittany Martino was injured.

"(Joey) would do anything for anybody," Brittany Martino said. "I loved him very much."

She said they were driving home from vacation Sunday night when they watched the crash unfold.

"We had seen up close on the left side, it looked like two trucks collided," Brittany Martino said. "Then all of a sudden the one bigger truck spun and hit us."

Troopers said 34-year-old Bradley Chapman of Hudson was driving a 2014 Ford F-150 south on Chenwood Avenue, approaching SR 52, when he failed to yield the right-of-way.

He was struck by Charles Smith, 26, of Spring Hill, who was driving a 2004 Ford F-250 east on SR 52, troopers said.

The impact caused Smith's pickup truck to travel into the path of Martinos' westbound 2018 Hyundai Sonata, troopers said.

Brittany Marino said when their car stopped moving she ran to the other side, but her husband already was gone.

"I just don't understand how he died, and I barely have any injuries," Brittany Martino said. "I kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him."

The Martinos married in August 2015 in Pinellas County, according to state marriage records.

Brittany Martino was released from Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point around midnight Sunday, she said, with bruises on her left hand and lower abdomen.

She said she misses laughing and joking with her husband.

"We'd always pick on each other," she said. "He was a really good, stand-up guy that just loved his country and would help anyone, ever, no matter what they needed."

Martino served in the U.S. Navy from 2003 to 2007, according to his wife, and had an 11-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.

Chapman and Smith were not injured, troopers said.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, troopers said, but charges are pending.