Diver Charged With Vehicular Homicide

Bruce Kimball, who miraculously survived a near-fatal automobile crash himself seven years ago and went on to win the Olympic silver medal on the 10-meter diving platform in 1984, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide after a crash early Tuesday morning.

The sports car Kimball was driving crashed into a crowd of teen-agers and three parked cars on a dead-end road near Brandon, Fla., about midnight. Two boys were killed and at least six other people were injured.

Kimball, 25, was not injured. His passengers, divers Chuck Wade, 22, and Colleen (Cokey) Smith, 23, also escaped without serious injury. Smith refused treatment for a minor ankle injury.

Kimball, Wade and Smith have been training at the Brandon Swim and Tennis Club with Kimballs Divers, the club coached by Kimball’s father, Dick, Olympic coach in 1964, 1976, and 1980, and for the last 29 years the diving coach at the University of Michigan.

Kimball, who competed for his father at Michigan, was preparing for the Olympic trials Aug. 17-21 in Indianapolis.

Kimball could not be reached Tuesday to say whether he still intended to compete in the Olympic trials, but Todd Smith, executive director of U.S. Diving, released a statement from his office in Indianapolis, saying that as far as U.S. Diving was concerned, Kimball was eligible to compete for a spot on the Olympic team.

Smith said: “The judicial process will have to run its course and, depending on the outcome, U.S. Diving will react according. As it stands now, Bruce has earned the right to compete, and there is nothing within U.S. Diving’s rules that would disqualify him from the trials.”

Kimball was released from Hillsborough County Jail on $10,000 bond Tuesday morning. Results of blood alcohol tests performed on Kimball Monday night were not immediately available from the state lab. Jack Espinosa, a spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department, said that Kimball’s car was going 70-90 m.p.h. when it crashed.

According to United Press International, deputies said that the accident occurred when the car went down a dead-end road at high speed, careened off parked cars and into the crowd of about 20 people. The dead youths were identified as Kevin Gossig, 16, of Brandon, and Robbie Bidell, 19, of Hillsborough County.

UPI reported that four teen-agers were treated and released at Brandon Humana Hospital and that five others were admitted, including Alice Brussy, 18, who was listed in serious but stable condition. R.J. (Raymond) Kerker, 16, of Brandon, was taken to Tampa General Hospital were he underwent surgery to reattach a severed leg.

The accident occurred in an area known as “the Spot,” a popular gathering point for young people at the dead end of Culbreath Road about a mile south of Bloomingdale Avenue in Brandon, a small community east of Tampa. Witnesses said some of the teen-agers were sitting on the hoods of cars and others were standing around when the car crashed into them. They said sparks flew from grinding metal and bodies were tossed in all directions.

Kimball is known for his courageous comeback from another serious accident. On April 18, 1981, a woman driving a van crossed a double yellow line on a highway near Ann Arbor, Mich., and hit Kimball’s car head on.

He underwent a total of 24 hours of surgery over the next few days as doctors reconstructed his face and repaired extensive internal damage. He had broken every bone in his face. His skull was fractured. His leg was broken. Ligaments in his knee were torn. His liver was lacerated. His spleen had to be removed.

He missed a year of training while he mended, but he came back strong to take his place on the national team and then make the ’84 Olympic team.

Kimball has been on the national team since 1978. He had beaten Greg Louganis in 6 of 11 national platform diving competitions before finishing second to Louganis in the ’84 Olympics.

He wanted to compete in the ’88 Olympics and then retire. When Kimball finished second to Louganis on the platform at the national outdoor meet two weeks ago at Irvine’s Heritage Park, he told reporters that it was his last national meet. He said then, “My sights are really set on the trials.”