Pedestrian in wheelchair killed in St. Petersburg crash
A man in a wheelchair died following a crash involving a pickup truck in St. Petersburg on Friday.
The crash occurred just after 3 p.m at the intersection of First Avenue North and 55th Street North, authorities said.
Resident Neil Adamson said cars whizzing by at high speeds on First Avenue North is not out of the ordinary, but the sound he heard around 3 p.m. on the busy thoroughfare certainly was.
“The only thing I heard was a real quick hard slam of breaks, and then I heard a thud,” Adamson said. “And right away I said, ‘Uh oh, we got an accident out here.’”
Adamson told us he walked out of his front door and saw the motorized wheelchair under the pickup truck. While others nearby swarmed around the man thrown from the wheelchair, Adamson spoke to the truck’s driver.
“He said he wasn’t speeding,” Adamson said. “And he said ‘I just don’t know — he came out of nowhere’ and he says ‘Bang! There’s no way I could’ve stopped.’”
The man in the wheelchair, identified as Mark Ynes, 61, was transported to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Adamson and his neighbors say the man’s death is just one more reminder of just how dangerous First Avenue North is.
“I feel they need a traffic light here — 55th and 1st Avenue North — because there’s been multiple accidents and plus we have a playground just one block or half a blocks down there,” Adamson said. “With all little children and you cross the street, you’re taking your life into your hands.”
“People are running up and down this road like it’s a racetrack,” said resident Gary Chase. “Like they’re trying to qualify for Daytona.”
The driver of the pickup truck remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. As of this update, no charges or citations against the driver have been filed. The investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published February 3, 2018 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Pedestrian in wheelchair killed in St. Petersburg crash."