Two crashes the evening of March 17 — one in the 5700 block of Marina Drive in Holmes Beach and another on the Anna Maria Island Bridge — topped off St. Patrick’s Day with trips to the hospital.
The first crash occurred at 8:50 p.m. when a Ford 150, traveling north on Marina Drive, struck and dragged a Bradenton man 40 feet on the roadway, according to Holmes Beach Police Officer Alexander Hurt.
Witnesses told the HBPD the man walked into traffic after stumbling on the sidewalk.
When Hurt arrived, emergency medical services was attending to the pedestrian, Shepherd Warriner, 30, according to the HBPD report. On March 18, police reported Warriner was in the intensive care unit at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton.
The bridge crash was reported at 9:05 p.m. March 17, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report.
A 2002 Kia Rio was stopped to allow a westbound fire truck to pass when Ethan Gluck, 75, of Bradenton, driving a 2015 Honda Civic, rear-ended the Rio, which deployed the Civic’s airbags, the report stated.
Gluck was ticketed for careless driving.
Witness Laura Jaicomo of Holmes Beach reported seeing the aftermath of both crashes.
“We were coming home to the island about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 17. One lane of the bridge was shut down. An eastbound car had crashed into the railing on the westbound side,” Jaicomo told The Islander in an email.
“The car had what appeared to be blood on its right front bumper,” Jaicomo stated, adding she also observed police in front of the Ugly Grouper, 5704 Marina Drive, where the pedestrian was struck in traffic.
