CRIME

Two-Vehicle Crash with Injuries Knocks Out Power in Gulfport

By Abby Baker

A two-car crash left a white BMW overturned with both driver and passenger injured after colliding with another vehicle and several power poles at 6:07 p.m., Tuesday, July 27, near the Gulfport Neighborhood Center.

According to the Gulfport Police Department, a 2006 BMW driven by Queen Clark, 21, hit a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, driven by Alex Bounds, 28, while traveling southbound on 49th Street. The Elantra was attempting to make a left turn onto 15th Avenue South.

“The BMW, the at-fault vehicle here, was traveling at an extreme rate of speed,” GPPD Public Information Officer Thomas Woodman.

Clark and a juvenile passenger flipped, hit Gulfport power poles and stopped upside down next to a building with the vehicle wrapped in live power lines.

“They both had to be extracted from the vehicle,” said

Woodman. “Both Clark and the 15-year-old passenger were transported to the hospital with possible broken bones.”

Bounds had no known injuries, according to police, and remained stationary on 49th Street.

The street marks a boundary between Gulfport and St. Petersburg, and first responders from St. Petersburg were first on the scene.

“St. Pete Police held down the scene until Gulfport arrived,” said St. Petersburg Police Spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez.

Following the crash, power outages were reported from at least 15th Avenue South to 5th Avenue South, as well as on Gulfport Boulevard for hours on Tuesday night. Duke Energy responded to restore power and replace the downed lines shortly after the accident.

The investigation remains ongoing.