You can see behind me here, Central Avenue. You can see behind me here, crime scene investigators are still on the scene trying to piece everything together that happened just after midnight. And now the officers, one from tampa and one from st. Petersburg were members of the Auto Theft Task force. They were traveling down Central Avenue this morning when they were tboned at 54th street north. As it turns out, the car that hit them had been stolen l. A. Week but they were not actually looking for that vehicle. There were six people in it ages 15 to 25, one seriously injured. We were not involved in a pursuit. We were not behind the car at any time. We have two witnesses that verify that. So the two officers, they are both in stable condition. The driver of the car that hit the Police Vehicle is in Critical Condition as im being told right now. Reporter now again, that vehicle had been stolen last week. We are told by st. Petersburg police that the driver actually the owner had left the keys in the vehicle which is one more indication that you should not be doing that. And once again, the two Police Officers involved in this crash are in stable condition. The most serious injured was the 25yearold driver of that stolen car, he is in Critical Condition. And as you can see behind me here, Central Avenue has been closed for several hours and probably will remain closed for another hour or so. Leslee thank you, josh. And what a crazy coincidence that the officers with this stolen vehicle Task Force End up getting hit by a stolen vehicle that were not pursuing. A wild story there. Trafficwise, what you need to know about this situation in st. Pete. On the map, this is where its located, Central Avenue and as you saw behind josh as he was pointing there, 54th street at Central Avenue, completely closed down. What you need to do is remember right next to central. Its a wonderful thing about st. Petersburg, the grid system that it is on. Lets take a look now at sarasota. Again, still closed down as University Parkway underneath i 75, thats due to overnight construction. Take state road 70 or so the south, take fruitville to get underneath the interstate there. And polk county, westbound i4 before the polk parkway, a disabled vehicle tying up lanes but no delays there. Well, good morning. We have something to think about this morning with the drivers, how much longer its going to be dark. A lot of people driving the to work without the sunshine. So heads up there with the time change. Sunrise at 7 40 this morning and it will set later, driving home from work in the light tithe, 7 38. And we have light showers now. And through the day, im going to pick those rain chances up. Here it is around 7 00 a. M. Notice how this batch of rain comes off the gulf of mexico, could still be seeing a shower. But after lunchtime, things dry out. Outside right now, upper 60s to lower 70s, warm and humid. In weather and traffic on the 8s at 5 08, i take you hourby hour through the day. Gayle and gene. Thank you, leigh. This morning the tragic death of a Hillsborough County deputy in the line of duty. We have been following every development in this case since Deputy John Kotfila was killed in a wrongway crash on the selmon expressway. The driver who hit him also died. And this morning a former deputy tells 8 on your side wrongway crashes are out of control here in the bay area. Our ryan hughs is live at the Sheriffs Office where the flags are flying at halfstaff. Ryan, this is hard for everyone. Reporter good morning to you both. That deputies worked with Deputy John Kotfila. And he says he is not surprised sheriffs deputy. It was just a matter of time before it could have been me. You know, a Law Enforcement officer or Somebody Just innocent driving down the roadway. Reporter the two worked together for a few years before he left to begin a private business. He tells us its frustrating to see so many lives lost in wrong way crashes and it hurts more now because his friend is the latest victim. He urges people to take responsibility for their actions. He believes drivers should avoid while drinking or on drugs. At this point, theres no word why the other driver headed the wrong way on the selmon expressway in the first place. And this is a live look at flags at halfstaff here at the Sheriffs Office. Funeral arrangements are underway for the fallen deputy. Count on 8 on your side to keep you posted on the developments. And a sad week here at the Sheriffs Office and also for the deputys family up in new england. Just tragic. A tragic reminder that you have control. Thanks, ryan. Many people are showing sympathy for Deputy John Kotfilas family online. Wfla facebook page. Hundreds of people have already weekend. In your vote, this is a big week in the race for the white house. And florida plays a very being role in this. Tomorrow is our state primary. Now it could be a make or break vote for some of the accounts. Today republican front runner donald trump makes his case in tampa. He is holding a rally at the Convention Center at 2 00 this afternoon. Over the weekend, Trump Campaigned in boca raton where hundreds of supporters packed the room. A Trump Campaign volunteer explain why is he appeals to her. He is a brilliant business man. He is a native born to the country. He is totally in it for the country. Building his empire to rebuild the american empire. Of course, not everyone agrees. You may have seen the violence at Trump Campaign events over the weekend like here in dayton, ohio. Secret servicemen jumping into action when a man tries to storm the stage. And this is kansas city, police used pepper spray after a trump rally and arrested some demonstrators there. Trump opponents blame the gop candidate for dividing americans. The responsibility starts at the top and it is not beneficial when you have a president ial candidate like donald trump telling supporter, punch that guy in the face. Well, an nbc news wall street journal poll shows trump with a twotoone advantage over our own senator marco rubio here in florida. 43 to rubios 22 . According to that same poll, senator rubio is only one point ahead of texas senator ted cruz who came in third. Senator rubio is campaigning as the only candidate who can beat donald trump in floridas primary on tuesday. Senator rubio is crisscrossing the state in hopes of winning votes. Today he will make stops in jacksonville, melbourne, West Palm Beach and miami. On the democratic side, Hillary Rodham clinton is leading big in florida. Clinton leads senator Bernie Sanders by 27 point, 61 to 34 . Floridas primary is this tuesday. Thats tomorrow. So head to wfla. Com for everything you need to know to vote including links to check your polling place. Its in the dont miss it section. We have some changes throughout the day. At this moment, only a couple sprinkles are out there but i expect that rain chance to go up. And here the reason why. Notice light rain in portions of nancy reagan county. And look in the gulf of mexico, that in Hernando County. And look out in the gulf of mexico. In the afternoon, i take those rain chances out. Temperatures up to 80. Afternoon but most of the rain is only this morning. Its still going to be warm, high near 80 all this week. But next weekend, rain chances back up. So notice 80 today. 81 tomorrow. 80 wednesday, thursday and friday. And lets check on traffic on the 8s to see how things are rolling. Yeah, not a perfect situation. A couple problems. This is st. Pete. I want you to know that we have the roadway completely blocked Central Avenue right at 54th street. What does that mean to you . Take 1st avenues north or south as an alternate to central. And thats how you get around it. And we are not seeing significant delays here but nonetheless, closed for a while. Its already been closed for about five hours and this is the accident involving those Police Officers and that stolen vehicle that we have been following throughout the morning. Lets talk about the Courtney Campbell causeway on the Pinellas County side. Just got word of a collision, keeping an eye on that one for you. Good drive on the Howard Franklin bridge. Construction still has University Parkway blocked right at i75. So take fruitville road to the south or to the north state road 70 to get by there. And now we want to talk about u. S. 41. A heads up this morning about a major road project that gets underway today. Lutz. Crews will close the highway near crenshaw lake road. Some worried that the delays and detours will double the commute time. And residents are afraid the traffic delays will become a safety issue. That impact with that traffic on those road, theres kids, vehicles, safety, police, all those, the delay lay in time is going to hurt someone. U. S. 41 is expected to be closed for about two weeks. Thats a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. Back to gene and gayle. All right. Thank you, leslee. A sports spoiler. Someone leaked the ncaa tournament bracket online ahead of the official release. Ahead, what the ncaa is doing to get to the bottom of the fiasco. And a bay area coffee shop that offers more than the morning pick me up. How the store is also making a fashion statement. But first, deadly flooding in the south. The way volunteers from florida are helping. donkey sound elephant sound theres a big difference between making noise, tapping sound and making sense. elephant sound donkey sound when it comes to Social Security, we need more than lip service. Our next president needs a real plan to keep Social Security strong. elephant noise hey candidates. Enough talk. Red cross volunteers from florida are headed to louisiana to help thousands of people dealing with devastating flooding. Look at this. And things could get worse. More rain is expected. Already the rain is blamed for massive flooding in louisiana, texas, mississippi and tennessee. One community is completely cut off by the flooding. The only way in and out is by boat or helicopter. We lost tractor, car, trucks, two storage building, everything under the barn is gone. At least six deaths are blamed on the flooding. Storms packing high winds are blamed for killing one person in the state of washington. It happened when a large tree fell on an suv in the park. The driver died. Now a toddler was in the backseat and survived with only minor injuries. Well this morning, two people are under arrest in the shooting death of a Police Officer. This happened over in maryland. The 28yearold was shot outside Police Department headquarters in landover, just outside of washington, d. C. The police chief is calling the shooting a, quote, unprovoked attack on their station. He was a fouryear veteran of the department. Well, this morning the United States is condemning the deadly car bomb attack in turkeys capitol. The explosion happened in a town. 34 people died and more than 100 others were hurt. No one is claiming responsibility but turkish officials believe kurdish militants may be to blame. And this morning, alqaeda is claiming responsibility for an attack on a beach resort in north africa. Gunmen stormed the hotel. At least 16 people died. Six attackers were also killed. Time now 5 15. The ncaa is investigating a leaked bracket before the teams public. The 2016 bracket appeared on twitter during the annual tournament selection show. This bracket is a closely guarded secret with the 68 teams and matchups not revealed until that televised special. Well, south carolinas coach claims he received a phone call that his gamecocks were not on the bracket before the announcement was made on tv. Consumer alert. Nissan is recalling more than 47,000 electric leafs in the u. S. And canada over potential brake problems. The national highway Transportation Safety demonstration claims cold weather can prevent brakes from working properly. Dealers will reprogram the software on 2013, 2014 and 2015 models for free. Well, a local Business Owner is branching out after giving up a career as an auditor to follow his dream. This sounds more interesting roberto torez, he wanted to control his destiny so he created his own clothing line. But as news channel 8s josh thomas shows us, its blossoming into more. Reporter it started as another business, a store that sold clothing called black and denim. We wanted to add a coffee bar because that would create our own tenant inside the boutique. Reporter roberto the record residence and his two Business Partners had no idea how it would take off. When people try to describe it to somebody else, they dont get it. But when they the step in, they get out the clothing style and the designs and the brand compliment the brand that we have for our own coffee. Reporter the shop is now known as much for the coffee as it is for the clothing. Its not like a big box starbucks operation. You know, theres a lot of indie stuff going on. Reporter in fact, the concept has garnered national attention. On msnbc. It was amazing. I think that the opportunity that a National Platform allows paramount. We develop, you know, an opportunity to connect with people that we already had as customers. Reporter business is so good, theyve opened a second store in seminole heights. Channel 8. And he credits the initial success to word of mouth but the National Exposure of course is only helping business there. But how great,. Yeah. A lot of stories on this guy and followed his career over the years and watched the clothing line grow. And its cool to see, when you follow something youre passionate about, obviously auditing was not the thing for him and now having a lot of success. Good guy. Good coffee too. You need something to help get you out of bed. Remember, the sun is not going to come up until after 7 30 this morning. And we have seen overnight rain. Yeah, theres sprinkles left in pasco and Hernando County but some heavier rain offshore. And thats why over the next couple hour, i will bring the rain chance up to 20 around 7 00 a. M. Remember, still dark. This is going to be warm too, 70 degrees. The last of the rain around lunchtime at 77. And warm and breezy at 4 00 p. M. Afternoon high of 80. Right now, its 71 in tampa. Its 69 in brooksville. 70 in winter haven. 72 in bradenton. Yes, its warm. Watch what happens again between now and 9 00 a. M. , here comes the quick shower off the gulf of mexico and pushing through hillsborough and polk counties. And during the afternoon, partly cloudy, the rain chance less than 10 . It will still be warm. Tomorrow morning, its not going to be the rain but we could see patchy fog. And some of that fog may hang out along the coast. Thats sea fog, while the rest we keep it 81 tomorrow. 80 on wednesday. And 80 on st. Patricks day. We have a few things that popped up. Pinellas county, that seems to be the hot spot this morning. Right now a good drive on the gandy and Howard Franklin bridge but an westbound on the Courtney Campbell. And im seeing some delays here closer to the tampa side. This is reported near damascus. Use caution across the Courtney Campbell. Great drive on the Howard Franklin bridge. And over here, Central Avenue remains blocked at 54th street. Take 1st avenue north or south to get around that wreck. And disabled vehicle in lanes i 4 near the polk parkway. Thats a look at weather and traffic on the 8s. Back to gene and gayle. Thank you, leslee. A florida theme park is celebrating a big anniversary with big changes. Still ahead, what lego land and a laundry list of gas problems. And dont forget, connect with me on social media. Find me on facebook and on twitter. It is the first monday after we sprung forward. How is everybody feeling this morning . I want to know. A gas leak in los angeles is giving residents in one Community Serious health problems. This woman has rashes all over her body. Hundreds of people in her area have headache, nausea and rashes that look just like hers. A well ruptured four months ago and leaked 100tons of methane gas in the air but it was supposed to be capped. We are waiting on the u. S. Department of transportation to release the march air travel report card. What is on there, january flight delay, tarmac times and consumer complaints. Is American Airlines and deltas report card be fridge worthy again . You know, like the kids. The companies both scored as last year. All right, their fifth anniversary is coming up and big plans are in the works. Legoland florida is planning the largest expansion in history. Five announcements about the plan are set to be made in winter haven on tuesday. In october. Years since the opening. Yeah. Weather and traffic on the 8s is three minutes away. Plus, its tax time. In the next half hour, the reason some are willing to wait to get their money from the government. And two Police Officers hit by a stolen car. We are following breaking news this morning. The latest on the crash and the traffic issues this is causing this morning. Stay tuned for an update in hi, guys know what that means easter is hopping along. Pso, if youre looking to stretch your dollar this easter holiday, pjust look at these savings at your local walmart. Tampa, in headtohead shopping, the total amount saved at walmart vs. Winndixie was 22. 72 thats 15 on this weeks easter basket. Why shop anywhere else . Fill your basket with walmarts big savings. Start shopping with walmarts every day low prices today. Okay, its 5 28. Emoji man is reminding you, its going to be darker this morning but it will be lightener the evening thanks to the time change of course. When the kids are at the bus stop, theres a good rain also dark the. When they come home from leslee, how about traffic . We have a disabled vehicle westbound i4 near the western polk parkway. And lets look at the map, big issue now on the Courtney Campbell causeway. Possibly all lanes blocked westbound. This accident is closer to the tampa side. Not too far away from the hump. And eastbound delays at this point. Take that Howard Franklin bridge instead of the courtney good monday morning. Welcome to news channel 8 today. Im gene ramirez. Im gayle guyardo. We begin with breaking news. Law enforcement officers injured in a crash. This is the second time in three days this has happened. Right now, a Tampa Police Officer and a st. Petersburg Police Officer are in the hospital. This is a live picture if the scene at central picture of the scene at central 54th street in st. Petersburg. We are told a stolen car hit the officers in the side. The officers are expected to survive. And it comes just two days