Animal Rescue Transport Van’s Tire Blows Out On Sunshine Skyway Bridge

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Friends of Strays, a St. Petersburg-based animal rescue nonprofit, hopes to raise at least $35,000 after its transport van and two of its employees were involved in a Wednesday afternoon crash on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Donations can be made online through the organization’s website or through its Facebook page.

Krista Loveless and Destiny Moye were returning from an animal shelter in Clewiston when one of the van’s tires blew out.

“Krista saved the day with her maneuvering,” Dara Worthington, executive director, told Patch.

She was driving in the left lane at the time, and with no other vehicles to the right of the van or behind it, she was able to take control of the vehicle and minimize the damage.

“They spun around a couple of times and ended up facing south on the northbound lanes,” Worthington said, adding, “I couldn’t sleep that night just thinking about what could have happened. They could have wound up in the water.”

The crash shut down the bridge for several hours.

Loveless was brought to an area hospital by ambulance, while Moye stayed at the scene with the animals.

Among the animals in the van at the time was a carrier of kittens. One kitten was being mean to the others, so Moye scooped it up and held it during the drive back to St. Petersburg to separate them.

“She held onto this kitten through the accident,” Worthington said. When her coworkers met her at the crash site, they found her “literally on the side of the road still holding this kitten.”

Moye later went to the emergency room.

“Thankfully, neither had major injuries, just bruising and soreness and rash from the seatbelt,” Worthington said.

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One animal was injured in the accident, she added. A puppy broke her paw in the crash and will see a specialist for her injury on Monday.

Now, Friends of Strays is raising funds to purchase a larger cargo van and to help pay for the puppy’s medical care.

The van involved in the crash was deemed a total loss. Though insurance will pay out nearly $14,000 for the totaled vehicle, it's not enough to replace it.

While the circumstances aren’t ideal, it’s an opportunity for the organization to purchase a larger van to accommodate the nonprofit’s increased focus on driving throughout Florida to pick up animals on euthanasia lists from low-resource shelters, Worthington said. “That van was not made for long trips.”

It’s been a difficult year for Friends of Strays and its staff as they lost a coworker and friend months earlier “in a horrible traffic accident,” she added. “But every time there’s a tragedy or something happens, our staff comes together. It’s just so amazing the love they have for what they do and you can feel the love they have for their teammates.”