Pickup truck driver fatally hits elderly man in Clearwater
CLEARWATER, FL – A 36-year-old man was speeding and rushing to get to work when he hit an 80-year-old man with his pickup truck, who later died, before fleeing the scene Monday.
ABC Action News said this collision happened after 2:45 p.m. on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard. Kris Paterson, the driver, claimed he knew he hit something — the scooter — but did not know the 80-year-old man was operating it. Authorities said Paterson drove half a mile with the scooter attached to his truck and only stopped to get it off from his bumper.
As for the elderly man, he was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital. There, he passed away on Wednesday and has since been identified as Ernest Coluzzi.
Paterson was initially charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury but will likely face more serious injuries, which will be reviewed by the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office.
Officers arrested Paterson and booked him into the Pinellas County Jail.
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