Driver who wasn't wearing seat belt ejected through windshield, survived crash

CLEARWATER, Fla. (FOX 13) - All lanes of the highly-traveled U.S. Highway 19 reopened hours after a serious crash occurred. 

Clearwater police said speeding may have been a factor when 19-year-old Hextor Armando Bonilla lost control of his 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe as he was traveling southbound on U.S. 19. Around 4:15 a.m., his vehicle crashed into a concrete median near the Seville Boulevard exit. 

The impact caused Bonilla -- who was not wearing a seat belt -- to be ejected through the windshield, police said. He landed in the northbound lanes and was not struck by any vehicles traveling in those lanes, they added.

He was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg as a trauma alert, but police have since said his injuries are not life-threatening. Two female passengers, ages 19 and 23, had minor injuries and were taken to Morton Plant Hospital. 

Police closed all lanes of U.S. 19 during the investigation. Traffic delays and congestion started building before the Thursday morning rush hour. Before 7 a.m., police reopened the northbound lanes, with one lane remaining closed. Before 8 a.m., all lanes reopened to traffic.