Road ranger hit, killed in early morning accident

Donald M. Bradshaw, 66, was closing a lane of 275 following an earlier accident when he was hit by a second driver and killed.

By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published March 5, 2006

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TAMPA - A road ranger was hit and killed early Sunday while closing a lane near an abandoned vehicle on Interstate 275, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Donald M. Bradshaw, 66, of 5951 15th Way N, St. Petersburg, died at the scene of the 3:20 a.m. accident, Trooper Larry Coggins said.

Bradshaw, a road ranger for the Florida Department of Transportation, was shutting down a traffic lane along southbound I-275 near the Howard-Armenia exit. He had stopped to secure a 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse that had been in an earlier accident.

Coggins said that's when a 1992 Nissan Sentra drove through the lane closure and hit Bradshaw. The driver of the Sentra, Benjamin J. Green, 31, of 817 15th St. S, St. Petersburg, wasn't charged. Coggins said Sunday that the accident was still under investigation.

State DOT road rangers provide free roadside assistance to drivers after accidents or whose vehicles are disabled to reduce delays and hazards for other motorists. They travel in white vehicles that use arrow indicators to signal shifts in traffic patterns to drivers. When road rangers aren't helping stranded motorists, they drive around clearing roadways of debris.