Motorcyclist thrown from Gandy Bridge crash in fatal crash

Tampa police divers recovered the body of a Pinellas Park motorcyclist thrown from the Gandy Bridge during a crash on Saturday, the Florida Highway Patrol announced Sunday morning.

The 23-year-old man who died was driving a Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle west on the bridge near the Pinellas County line around 10:30 p.m., a Highway Patrol spokesperson said, when the motorcycle crashed into the back of a Hyundai Tucson driven by a 41-year-old man from Orlando.

The SUV stopped in the travel lanes, troopers said, while the motorcycle struck the outside barrier wall and burst into flames as the driver was thrown into Tampa Bay.

The man driving the SUV was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, troopers said.