Sara DiNatale, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, July 2, 2016 10:47am
ST. PETERSBURG — A Leesburg family is dead after troopers say their pickup was hit on the Howard Frankland Bridge by a drunk driver and sent spinning into the Tampa Bay waters below.
Joshua Burbank, 25, was driving under the influence in his 2014 Honda Civic Friday night, according to Florida Highway Patrol, when he hit a pickup truck with a mother, father and son inside. Burkbank faces three charges of DUI Manslaughter and one charge of DUI involving property damage. He was released from Pinellas County Jail Saturday night after posting $61,000 bail.
Both cars were traveling east on I-275, near Milepost 33, around 9:40 p.m. Friday. Burbank's Honda was in the inside center lane. The family's truck, a 2012 GMC Sierra, was in the inside lane. Burbank lost control of his car, troopers said, and entered the inside lane. The front left portion of his car hit the rear right of the truck, causing the GMC to spin clockwise while overturning several times, according to FHP.
The pickup truck went over a southern barrier wall and landed in the 2 feet of water below, troopers said.
Burbank's car came to a stop on the southern shoulder.
The family's names have not been released pending next-of-kin notifications. The father of the family, 76, was driving the truck. He and his wife, 73, were pronounced dead on the scene. Their son, 52, was taken to the hospital with critical injuries and died shortly after. Troopers said they're from Leesburg in Lake County.
Saturday morning, the FHP released a photo of the dark-colored pickup truck being pulled back over the bridge with a crane. It was battered and dented. A rear wheel was missing and the hood was pushed in.
The same night troopers say Burbank got behind the wheel drunk, deputies in Pinellas County were on the streets arresting drivers for driving under the influence during the holiday weekend. In a county-wide "Wolf Pack" from Friday into Saturday, deputies cited 97 people and arrested 13 others for driving under the influence.
Last year on the Fourth of July, 14 people were killed in over 900 crashes across the state, according to FHP.
Burbank is from Wesley Chapel, according to FHP records. Burbank was arrested for a misdemeanor DUI in Portland, Ore. in 2012, records show, but that case never went to court.
Troopers: Family of three dead after Howard Frankland crash, drunk driver in custody 07/02/16 [Last modified: Saturday, July 2, 2016 10:03pm]