The wife of the mayor of Holmes Beach was returning home from volunteer work in Sarasota in a 2008 Toyota Prius at 3:20 p.m. Oct. 13 when her vehicle allegedly ran a red light and struck another vehicle in Bradenton.
Mayor Bob Johnson said his wife was on her way home from a weekly volunteer session of infant care — baby rocking — at First Step in Sarasota when the accident occurred. She suffered pelvic and clavicle injuries on her left side, he said.
She is “feeling great” and “the good thing is it’s nothing serious,” he added.
Both Denise Johnson, 74, and the 24-year-old driver of the other vehicle, a 2015 Hyundai Sonata, were taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton. Johnson was later transferred to Blake Medical Center.
The driver of the Sonata suffered minor injuries, according to Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Greg Bueno.
Johnson was driving her Prius northwest on U.S. 301 when it entered the intersection at 15th Street East on a red traffic signal as the Sonata entered it on a green light, according to a FHP report.
Johnson’s vehicle collided with the front of the Sonata and veered off the roadway to the north shoulder, where it struck a sign and light pole, according to the report. The Hyundai spun around and came to rest facing south.
Johnson was ticketed for failing to stop at a steady red light.
The driver of the other vehicle was ticketed for operating a vehicle on a suspended license. — Kathy Prucnell