A man in his early 70s using a wheelchair died Wednesday night after he was struck while crossing North Nebraska Avenue near East Lambright Street in Tampa during a heavy downpour, police said. The collision threw him from his wheelchair, and the empty chair was then pushed across the roadway into oncoming traffic, where a second vehicle struck it.
Officers Called Just Before 8:30 PM
Tampa police officers were called to the scene just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from the City of Tampa. The man was crossing North Nebraska Avenue when a northbound 2011 silver Hyundai Sonata traveling in the inside lane struck him, per the city's account. First responders performed life-saving measures at the scene before taking him to a nearby hospital, where he later died, according to the Tampa Free Press.
The force of the collision pushed the man's now-empty wheelchair across the roadway and into the southbound lanes, where it was struck by a separate dark-colored 2021 Hyundai Sonata, the outlet reported. The driver of the first Sonata, described as a woman in her mid-20s, told police she did not see the man in time to avoid hitting him, the report states.
Preliminary Findings Point to No Speeding or Impairment
Tampa police said preliminary findings showed neither driver was speeding nor impaired, per the same account. Both drivers stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators, and the case remains an open investigation.
The crash adds to a string of recent incidents nationally involving wheelchair users struck while crossing roads. In Washington state, a 71-year-old man using a wheelchair was killed in September after a southbound pickup truck hit him while he crossed North First Street in Yakima — a case in which police said intoxicants were not suspected to be a factor, according to earlier Hoodline coverage. And in Long Beach, California, a man in a wheelchair was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing Pacific Coast Highway in a crosswalk in September; police there arrested 23-year-old Ethan Chung of Irvine on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter, according to the Los Angeles Times.
What Florida Law Requires Near Wheelchair Users
Under Florida statute, a driver approaching an intersection where a person using a walker, crutch, orthopedic cane or wheelchair is present must bring the vehicle to a full stop before reaching the intersection and take precautions before proceeding, according to the Florida Senate. Separately, state law also specifies that no pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and enter a vehicle's path so close that a driver cannot yield, per the Florida Senate's statutes. How either provision applies to the Nebraska Avenue crash has not been addressed by investigators.
State traffic-safety officials have also flagged pedestrians as road users with the potential for a disproportionately high fatality rate, according to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 2024 crash report. The agency has separately noted that pedestrian risk climbs during darker, low-light hours, and that the vast majority of hit-and-run fatalities occur at night or in low-light conditions.
No further details about the man's identity have been released, and Tampa police have not announced any additional findings beyond the preliminary account. The investigation remains open.
