Published on Monday, May 21, 2007
in the Tampa Tribune

3 Troopers Recovering After Being Struck By Car

ST. PETERSBURG - Three Florida Highway Patrol troopers spent Sunday recovering after being run down while investigating a fatal motorcycle accident Saturday night.

Troopers Rhonda Hendee, Gregory Taylor and Eugene Lebrenz, an auxiliary trooper, sustained nonlife-threatening injuries, according to Paul Fruik of the highway patrol. Taylor was treated for broken bones, Fruik said. Details about Hendee and Lebrenz's injuries were not available.

The three troopers were taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where they were listed in stable condition Sunday. Hendee underwent surgery Sunday morning, and Taylor was expected to have surgery in the afternoon.

They were struck while investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that happened shortly before 8 p.m. on Interstate 275, south of 54th Avenue North, according to patrol reports.

Ryan J. Sneddon, 24, of Seminole, lost control of his 2006 Honda motorcycle while changing lanes at high speed and crashed into a guardrail. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a highway patrol report.

The highway patrol offered the following account of how the troopers were injured:

Shortly after 11 p.m., they were still working the scene, which was marked with flares, traffic cones, an electronic arrow board and patrol vehicles with their emergency lights flashing.

Robert M. Taylor, headed south on I-275, swerved to avoid slower traffic, lost control of his 2005 Honda Civic and veered into the crash scene.

His car rotated counterclockwise, pushing one patrol car into another, then continued rotating and hit the three troopers.

After being treated at Bayfront Medical Center, Taylor, 19, of St. Petersburg, was arrested on three counts of DUI with serious bodily injury and two counts of DUI with property damage, jail records show.

Taylor remained in the Pinellas County Jail on Sunday, with bail set at $31,000, records show.

In 2002, the state Legislature passed the "Move Over Act," which requires drivers to move over or slow down when approaching emergency vehicles stopped on a highway.

Between 1996 and 2000, motorists crashed into law enforcement vehicles that were stopped or parked along Florida roadways 1,793 times, according to the highway patrol. Those incidents resulted in five deaths and 419 injuries.