Motorcycle Collides With School Bus, 18-Year-Old Killed

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — An 18-year-old St. Petersburg man is dead after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a bus that was transporting children to Sawgrass Elementary School Monday morning.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Mitchell Austin Roberge was riding a Honda motorcycle north on 49th Street North “at a high rate of speed” just before 7 a.m. Sept. 18. Troopers say Roberge completed multiple lane changes while heading north. (For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from St. Pete Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

As the Honda was moving in and out of lanes, a school bus carrying seven kids to Sawgrass Elementary was heading south, a highway patrol report said. Bus driver Gayle Eliachar, 58, of Clearwater turned east onto 58th Avenue North “well in advance" of Roberge, troopers noted.

As Roberge entered the intersection, troopers say he changed lanes again to pass another northbound vehicle and hit the right rear of the turning school bus. He was thrown from the bike, the report said.

Roberge suffered fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers say no one on the school bus was injured, including the children.

No charges were filed.

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Photo courtesy of the Florida Highway Patrol