Driver Strikes Police Motorcycle In Busy Tampa Intersection
By Weinstein & Scharf, P.A.
Oct. 21, 2011 11:05a
Florida Accident Leaves Officer With Minor Injuries
In a bizarre accident, a driver was distracted by a homeless man standing in the middle of an intersection and collided with a police motorcycle, sending the officer skidding across the street.
According to reports released by the Sheriff's Office, a deputy was traveling towards his station at a crossing for the Schwarzkopf Elementary School on the morning of Wednesday, August 17th. At approximately 7:15 a.m., the ten-year veteran with the Sheriff's department reached the intersection of Bearss Avenue and Florida Avenue. While stopped at the light, he noticed a man, who appeared to be homeless, standing inside the intersection.
The thirty-eight-year-old officer activated the lights on his motorcycle and pulled to a stop next the man, attempting to convince him to leave the junction of the two busy streets and move to the side of the road.
Police Say They Will Be Unlikely To Press Charges Against Driver
After repeatedly asking the homeless person to leave the street and being refused each time, the officer was caught by surprise when the lights changed, allowing east-west cross traffic on Bearss Avenue. A car, allegedly distracted by the homeless man, failed to notice that he was in a path to strike the officer's motorcycle.
The car collided into the policeman's vehicle, sending the mounted officer sliding along the road, sustaining road rash, for which he was taken to nearby St. Joseph's Hospital. The driver was uninjured in the accident.
Speaking to reporters, a spokesperson with the department said that they would probably not charge the driver as the fault for the crash lay with the homeless person; she also said, however, that the incident was still under investigation.
According to witness testimony, the alleged vagrant fled the scene immediately following the accident.
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