FHP: 1 dead, 3 injured after crash sends car into Tampa Bypass Canal

Patrick Wallace Bilder, 43, died Saturday afternoon following a car crash that sent a vehicle off the Adamo Drive bridge and into the Tampa Bypass Canal, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. 

According to troopers, a Toyota Camry was traveling eastbound on Adamo Drive shortly after 5 p.m. when it crossed the grass median and began traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes.

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It collided with a concrete barrier wall before being redirected into the travel lanes. The car then collided nearly head-on with another vehicle before becoming airborne and striking a third vehicle. The Camry continued airborne off the bridge spanning the Tampa Bypass Canal and sank to the bottom. It took three hours to remove the vehicle from the water. 

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Courtesy: Hillsborough County Fire Rescue

Three other people involved in the crash were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. 

Adamo Drive was closed in both directions, but all lanes reopened shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday night.