2 killed in separate Sarasota crashes and second child hit in less than a week
Two people died in traffic wrecks in the Sarasota area over the weekend, officials said, and a second child was hit by a vehicle in less than a week.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported two separate fatal crashes happened late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
▪ The accident late Friday happened at 11:55 p.m. and involved a motorcycle, van and Sarasota County Area Transit passenger bus at Clark Road and Lawton Drive, FHP’s report said.
A 42-year-old Sarasota man died, while his 20-year-old female passenger sustained serious injuries when the motorcycle collided with a concrete median curb after failing to negotiate a left turn from Clark Road, according to the report.
Both the driver and passenger, who were not wearing helmets, became separated from the bike and came to rest on Clark Road, while the motorcycle fell into the westbound lane onto the path of the van, the FHP report said.
A 49-year-old Sarasota man driving the van had minor injuries from hitting the motorcycle, which was then redirected into the center westbound lane of Clark Road, where a SCAT bus was traveling, according to FHP.
The report said the front of the bus hit the bike, and the right-side undercarriage hit the motorcycle driver. A 52-year-old Palmetto man was driving the SCAT bus and had minor injuries, FHP said.
▪ Less than two hours later, a separate fatal crash happened in Sarasota County at U.S. 41 and Shoreland Drive, FHP reported.
The one-vehicle crash saw the driver traveling south on U.S. 41 in the inside lane as they approached Shoreland Drive, when the car veered onto a grassy median, hit a guardrail, overturned and was in flames, FHP said. The driver, whose age, gender and residence were not named, was pronounced dead at the scene, FHP said.
▪ FHP reported a non-fatal third incident involving a car and a 10-year-old bicyclist in Nokomis on Monday morning.
A 71-year-old Nokomis man was approaching a stop sign at Laurel Road from the southbound lane of Sorrento Woods Blvd. when a 10-year-old was riding his bike southbound on the sidewalk approaching Sorrento Woods Blvd., FHP reported.
The SUV driver entered the crosswalk and hit the bicyclist with the front of the vehicle, FHP said. The 10-year-old fell onto the paved roadway within the crosswalk area, and was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, FHP said.
The driver received a traffic citation for a right of way violation, FHP said
It’s the second incident involving a child in less than a week in the area. That incident involved a 9-year-old boy, who was not seriously injured, running into the street at the 2300 block of 5th Street West in Bradenton.
This story was originally published December 6, 2021 at 12:01 PM.
