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Homeless Man Killed in Fatal Tampa Pedestrian Accident

February 3, 2011, Tampa, Fl - A pedestrian was killed on January 11 after being struck by a car, the St. Petersburg Times has reported.

The driver, 42-year-old Benjamin Walker, was en route to Tampa's downtown area when the fatal pedestrian accident occurred on an off-ramp of Interstate 275 near Tampa Street. According to the newspaper's website, Walker, who often drives the route, was visibly shaken after the Tampa pedestrian accident.

Walker said he could not stop his white four-door Acura in time to avoid hitting 32-year-old Sidney Robert Summerlin, who Walker said ran down a hill and onto the street. The impact tossed Summerlin about 100 feet from the car, which sustained damage to the right side of the windshield.

Tampa Fire Rescue was called to the scene of the fatal pedestrian accident but paramedics were not able to revive Summerlin, who police said was homeless.

Police also said Walker is unlikely to face any charges because he didn't appear to break any laws.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' 2009 Traffic Crash Statistics Report, there were 197,214 traffic crashes resulting in injury and 2,563 fatalities as a result of vehicle accidents in Florida.

As a service to the residents of Florida, our firm will frequently publish blogs about local traffic accidents. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of motor vehicle accidents occurring in Florida that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.

Common accidents include, but are not limited to: 

• single-car accidents;
• accidents caused by hazardous road conditions; and
• accidents caused by distracted drivers or aggressive driving. 

If you have been named in this blog posting or you are the victim's family member or friend and would like it removed from our website, please feel free to contact us and we will promptly accommodate your request.

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