Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Elderly man on scooter killed in crash

The area of Keene Road where the crash occurred has been identified as a dangerous spot after several fatalities there in recent years.

By LORRI HELFAND and KINFAY MOROTI
Published March 4, 2005

LARGO - A 91-year-old man riding an electric scooter was struck and killed by a Ford pickup Thursday at 7:53 a.m. while crossing Keene Road near East Bay Drive.

Henry R. Cavaliere was north of the Kash n' Karry supermarket when he rode into the road in the path of the Ford F150 driven by Scot P. Evancho, said Sgt. Butch Ward, a traffic homicide investigator for the Largo Police Department.

A maroon sedan pulled out of the lot onto Keene Road, obstructing the vision of Evancho, who was heading north on Keene Road.

When Evancho saw Cavaliere, he tried to swerve out of the way, but Cavaliere continued westbound across Keene and Evancho was unable to avoid hitting Cavaliere, whose vision was also obstructed by the maroon car, Ward said.

A preliminary investigation revealed speed was not a factor. Evancho, who was driving at or below the speed limit, had the right of way and was not charged in the crash, Ward said.

Cavaliere was transported by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9:25 a.m. Thursday.

Investigators also are interviewing the driver of a silver pickup truck that was making a left turn into the supermarket, Ward said. It was not clear how that truck was involved in the accident.

Cavaliere's grandson, Henry Keith Cavaliere, 41, said his grandfather was "healthy as a horse, strong as an ox" but the scooter was his main means of transportation.

"He went everywhere on that scooter. He ran out of battery more than once," Cavaliere's grandson said.

Locals were also familiar with Cavaliere and his scooter.

Charles Brayden, 30, heard a "loud crash" as he ran on a treadmill at Cora Rehabilitation Clinics early Thursday morning. After therapy, he walked south on Keene Road near Brandywine Drive and recognized Cavaliere's scooter. "I see him almost every day," Brayden said.

Mike Meany, assistant store manager at the Kash n' Karry, said Cavaliere had stopped by the store before the accident asking for the location of the nearest fire station. Meany said Cavaliere was a regular customer.

"I don't like losing customers that way," Meany said.

But the site where Cavaliere was hit, near the Imperial Palms assisted living complex on Keene Road, is a trouble spot and the city is studying ways to make the area safer for pedestrians, Ward said.

"I've worked three or four fatals in the last two or three years there that I can recall," Ward said.

A city work session is scheduled Tuesday to discuss pedestrian issues on Keene Road.

Jimmy Hitchcock, 81, was killed in August 2003 when he was struck by a drunken driver in the same area.

There was also a two-car collision at the same site in July 2004, which killed 91-year-old John E. Graveline.

Brayden said he was upset to see the accident but not surprised.

"You know that area is dangerous. On Friday and Saturday nights I can hear cars and motorcycles racing right where the man in the scooter was hit," Brayden said.

Cavaliere, who moved to the area in 1959, was born in New York, and was a Navy-certified welder, building ships during World War II.

"He worked hard his whole life," Cavaliere's son Richard, 54, said.

Henry Keith Cavaliere described his grandfather as the "most honest person" and one of the most devoted husbands, continuing the bond with his wife, Josephine, long after her death in 1992.

"He visited her gravesite daily for 13 years, rain or shine," Cavaliere's grandson Henry Keith said.

Cavaliere's survivors include two sons, Richard of Clearwater and Henry of Sarasota; a daughter Paulene of Canada; a sister, Angie; a brother, Carmen; seven grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

Anyone with information on the crash or the maroon sedan should call Sgt. Butch Ward at 586-7473.

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 4, 2005, 00:31:15]