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Patrol seeks pickup driver in hit-and-run
By RICHARD DANIELSON, Times Staff Writer The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for the driver of a pickup truck involved in a fatal hit-and-run wreck on Keystone Road near Tarpon Springs late Wednesday afternoon. Troopers said Friday that Edwin James Cullen, 64, of Largo died after his moped was struck by a boat or trailer being pulled by a new red Ford F-150 pickup truck. The boat in tow was described as a 28-foot white or pale yellow vessel with twin 175-horsepower engines. Both the pickup truck and Cullen's moped were headed in the same direction on Keystone Road, west of East Lake Road, when the accident occurred about 4:30 p.m., said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Sterling King. The truck began to make a turn, and the boat and trailer it was towing hit Cullen. "He swung out wide to turn, and the boat and the trailer caught the moped driver," King said. The driver of the truck "may not even know it even happened," he said. Speed was not believed to have played a role in the accident, King said. The accident took place in the westbound lane of Keystone Road near George Street, just west of the Stop and Shop, East Lake Fire Rescue District Chief Bill Walker said. Cullen, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered serious injuries to his face and head. He was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Walker said. Troopers did not release word of the accident until late Friday because Cullen did not die immediately after the accident, King said. He said he did not know how long Cullen lived after the accident. Anyone with information about the accident or the truck is asked to call Highway Patrol Cpl. Frank Burke at 570-5010, ext. 311. -- Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
