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Man hit; 2 of 5 drivers stop

Troopers say Hans D. Uzzo, 56, of Holiday was dragged about 3,000 feet on U.S. 19.

By CAMILLE C. SPENCER
Published November 30, 2005

HOLIDAY - Donna Ferrante was finishing a day of shopping Saturday when she pulled into the Dollar General store on U.S. 19, her last stop before heading to her Holiday home.

She had passed several troopers on U.S. 19 and State Road 54 minutes before but saw no car wreck and thought nothing of it.

But after parking near the store, Ferrante soon was shaken by a woman's screams as she discovered what happened at the busy intersection at 6:42 p.m.

"Some lady screamed, "There's a body under the car,"' Ferrante said Tuesday. "You could see his arms ... I froze. I ran inside the store and prayed. I had never seen anything like that."

The body of Hans D. Uzzo, 56, of 2516 Templewood Drive in Holiday had been dragged about 3,000 feet and hit by five cars, only two of which stopped after hitting Uzzo, said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Larry Coggins Jr. Those who fled the scene could face felony charges, Coggins said.

Uzzo had been walking east to west on U.S. 19's southbound lanes, according to a patrol accident report, and entered the path of oncoming vehicles.

Uzzo first was hit on U.S. 19 near Beacon Square Drive by a green pickup, which might have damage to its front or rear side mirrors. The second vehicle that hit Uzzo was a white Oldsmobile sedan, then a black Toyota pickup and a 2006 Toyota sport utility vehicle driven by Lauren Melick of Lutz, who remained at the scene.

The fifth vehicle to hit Uzzo was a 1995 Nissan sedan driven by Jeanine Garran of Tennessee, the report said, who stopped after being flagged down near Dollar General, about a mile from Uzzo's home.

No one answered the door Tuesday at the gray and white house Uzzo shared with his brother. A brown car was in the driveway.

It is unknown where he was headed when the accident occurred.

But for Ferrante, seeing Uzzo's body is a hard image to forget.

"It's terrible for everyone involved," she said. "You always think, that's somebody's husband or son, and your heart goes out to them and their family. The person that hit him, I'm sure she was hysterical. I'm sure she didn't know. It's a terrible thing all the way around."

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 02:15:38]