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Scooter Driver Dies after Clearwater Crash

Scooter Driver Dies | Red Light Runner | Jerome Keith Smith

The crash was caused when another driver ran a red light, Clearwater police said.

CLEARWATER – An early morning traffic crash caused by a red-light runner claimed the life of a Palm Harbor man this morning (June 21), according to the Clearwater Police Department.

Jerome Keith Smith, 55, of Palm Harbor, died at Bayfront Health of his injuries, police said.

The crash happened about 1:45 a.m. when Mr. Smith was driving his scooter north on Belcher Road. Police said he was hit by a 2006 Chrysler Sebring driven by Ronald R. Siggeman, 56, of 880 Mandalay Ave., Clearwater. Siggeman, who was driving west on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, ran the red light at the intersection, officers said. The impact of the collision pushed the scooter into the side of a 1995 Lincoln Town Car driven by Christopher Cordes, 41, who was also headed north on Belcher.

Cordes was taken to Morton Plant for treatment of minor injuries. Siggeman red light was not injured but showed signs of impairment at the scene, police said. He was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license in an accident involving death or serious bodily injury, a felony. Any further charges will have to wait on the results of a blood draw.

For information about the Clearwater Police Department, go to clearwaterpolice.org.

Photo courtesy of the Clearwater Police Department.

Clearwater Police | Scooter Driver Dies | Red Light Runner | Jerome Keith Smith | TB Reporter

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