Bradenton man killed after losing control of vehicle, troopers say

A Bradenton man was killed Sunday after he lost control of his vehicle, veering off the road and crashing into a tree.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the man killed was 44-year-old Brian Saunders.

Saunders, troopers said, was driving a Buick Terraza traveling westbound on University Parkway in the left lane approaching Shade Avenue around 10:05 a.m.

For unknown reasons, Saunders went over the concrete curb onto the grass median and down an embankment, continuing to travel in a westerly direction.

Then, troopers say, the left side of the vehicle crashed into a tree, causing it to spin in a counter-clockwise direction and forcing it to travel back into the westbound lanes of University Parkway.

The Buick then went backward “in an arcing motion” from the left lane to the middle lane, the FHP said, before going back into the left lane. The vehicle came to a final rest facing northeast, with the right rear over the concrete curbed median.

Saunders was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he later died, troopers said.