Pedestrian Killed Near Downtown Tampa

Benjamin Walker, 42, struck and killed a pedestrian near Interstate 275 and Tampa Street.  News reports indicate that the pedestrian jumped in front of the car.  Mr. Walker was driving a four-door Acura on his normal every day route home from work.  Walker says that the man ran down a small hill on the side of the road and out onto the street.  Walker claims that he was unable to stop in time to avoid the collision.  Walker says that he has no idea why the man would have ran down the hill and into the road.  Police believe the man to be in his 30's and appeared to be homeless.  Police say that Walker does not appear to have broken any traffic laws.

This is a bizarre story it is not beyond the imagination.  I can see where a young man in his 30's could be down on his luck and decide to kamikaze himself into the roadway to end a difficult life.  No witnesses were identified in the news articles to confirm or contradict the bizarre story.  In general, there is almost always some liability on a driver who strikes and kills a pedestrian because the driver typically has the greater responsibility to avoid a collision even with a pedestrian who is not where he belongs.  However, that theory of liability only goes so far because a driver cannot be held at fault if a person intentionally attempts suicide by vehicle.  It is a completely different situation where a pedestrian is walking on the line and is struck as opposed to one where the pedestrian darts out into the roadway.  However, drivers must be careful of children darting out into the roadway upon seeing them.  Typically this duty will arise in a neighborhood where a driver can reasonably expect children to be playing and not on an interstate highway where no one, let alone children, have any business.  If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, please contact a Lakeland or Central Florida personal injury attorney for more information and a review of the facts and circumstances of the case.  A case review by a Lakeland or Central Florida personal injury or car accident attorney is free as most attorneys take cases on a contingency basis.