An SUV hit a PSTA bus head on as a passenger was loading his bicycle onto the front of the bus.

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH – A Redington Shores man died Monday (Nov. 12) when he was hit by a truck while loading his bicycle onto the front of a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said.

Michael Joe Richardson, 55, of Redington Shores, was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg where he died.

The driver of the SUV that hit Mr. Richardson and the bus was David Larry Schwab, 58, of New Hartford, IA. Schwab was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, for
non-life-threatening injuries.

No one in the bus was injured.

Deputies said that impairment appears to be a factor in the crash and criminal charges are pending for Schwab. Pinellas County jail records show a “paperwork only” booking for Schwab one charge each of DUI manslaughter and DUI involving property damage.

The crash happened about 1:54 p.m. on Gulf Boulevard just south of Fourth Avenue in Indian Rocks Beach.

Deputies said the PSTA bus, which was heading south on Gulf Boulevard, was stopped at a designated bus stop when a 2016 Ford Flex driven by Schwab, which was heading north on Gulf, crossed into the southbound lane.

The Ford hit the PSTA bus head-on as Mr. Richardson was placing his bicycle on the bicycle rack, which is on the front of the PSTA bus.

Because of the severity of the crash, deputies closed Gulf Boulevard from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue, while they conducted their investigation.

Photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Pinellas Sheriff | Crime | DUI | Gulf Boulevard Crash | Head-On Crash | Michael Joe Richardson | Tampabay News

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