A 49-year-old woman was waiting at a bus stop near 56th Street North and Pitch Pine Circle when a car came off the road and hit her.
She wasn't driving. She wasn't crossing 56th Street.
She was waiting for a bus.
Florida Highway Patrol says a Chevrolet driven by 33-year-old Benny Wallace of Tampa left the roadway, struck a culvert and went airborne before hitting the woman.
She was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. She later died.
Wallace was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter.
There will now be a criminal case over what FHP says happened that night. For the woman's family, there may also be a separate wrongful death case. They can move at the same time, but they deal with different questions.
What FHP Says Happened on 56th Street
According to Tampa Bay 28 and Florida Highway Patrol, Wallace was driving south on 56th Street North at about 7:40 p.m. when the Chevrolet went onto the shoulder near Pitch Pine Circle.
Troopers say the car hit a culvert hard enough to send it into the air.
It then struck the woman at the bus stop on the northwest corner of the intersection.
The Chevrolet kept moving and hit a Toyota that was stopped on Pitch Pine Circle. A 42-year-old Tampa man was driving that vehicle.
The woman was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Troopers say they determined Wallace was impaired. He was arrested on a DUI manslaughter charge.
Those are the facts investigators have released so far. The criminal case is still developing, and the charge remains an allegation.
This Wasn't a Typical Two-Car Crash
Most people hear “car accident” and picture two vehicles meeting somewhere they should not.
An intersection. A rear-end crash. Maybe a wreck on I-275.
This one left the roadway.
Once that happens, the people at risk change fast. Someone can be standing on a sidewalk, riding a bike, waiting for a bus or sitting in another vehicle and suddenly be pulled into a crash they had nothing to do with.
Our Tampa car accident lawyer page explains how serious crashes are investigated, including insurance issues and the evidence that can matter when fault is disputed.
In a crash like this, the final report is only part of the picture.
What was the car doing before it left the road? How fast was it moving? What does the vehicle data show? Were there cameras nearby? What did witnesses see? If impairment is being alleged, what testing was done?
Sometimes the useful piece of evidence is not obvious at the beginning. It becomes important after the rest of the crash starts making sense.
DUI Manslaughter and Wrongful Death Are Different Cases
The arrest gets the attention first. That makes sense. DUI manslaughter is a serious criminal charge.
The criminal case belongs to the State of Florida. Under Florida Statute §316.193, prosecutors must prove the criminal charge under the standard that applies in criminal court.
The civil side works differently. Florida law allows a wrongful death action when a death is caused by negligence or another wrongful act. The personal representative brings the claim for the estate and eligible survivors.
Our wrongful death lawyer resource explains that process and the issues families may need to sort through after a preventable death.
A family may have reasons to start looking at the civil side while the criminal case is still pending, especially when evidence could disappear with time.
The Evidence Won't All Wait Around
A police report will still be there months from now. Surveillance footage from a nearby business may not be.
Video gets overwritten. Vehicles get repaired, sold or destroyed. Roadway marks fade. Witnesses move, change numbers or forget details.
That is why serious crash investigations often start early.
Depending on what happened, attorneys may look for:
- FHP's crash investigation and reconstruction
- Blood or breath testing and toxicology records
- Electronic data stored by the vehicle
- Surveillance and traffic-camera footage
- Witness statements
- Cellphone evidence when legally available
- Photographs and measurements from the crash scene
- Vehicle inspections and damage evidence
- Insurance policies
- Information about where the driver was before the crash
Every case is different. The job is to figure out which pieces actually matter here, not to collect a checklist for the sake of having one.
Our Tampa fatal car accident lawyer page covers the added issues that come up when a collision ends in a death.
An Alleged DUI Can Change the Civil Case
Impairment can matter far beyond the arrest itself.
Florida has a specific rule for punitive damages in intoxication cases. Florida Statute §768.736 provides an exception to certain punitive-damage limits when the defendant was impaired by alcohol or drugs to the extent described in the statute, or had a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or higher.
That still does not put punitive damages into a case automatically. Florida has procedural requirements, and the evidence has to support the claim.
But when impairment is part of the allegation, the timeline before the crash can become especially important. Toxicology, where the driver had been, what was consumed and what witnesses saw may all deserve a closer look.
What a Wrongful Death Claim Can Actually Do
Law firms often say that no amount of money can replace someone who died. Families know that already.
The more useful question is what Florida law actually allows them to pursue.
Under Florida Statute §768.21, recoverable damages can include lost support and services and certain medical or funeral expenses, along with other damages allowed for qualifying survivors and the estate.
Who can recover, and what can be claimed, depends heavily on the family itself. A spouse, child or parent may have different rights. Age and dependency can matter too. Then there are the facts of the crash, which can change the analysis again.
There Was Another Driver Involved Too
The woman at the bus stop was not the only person pulled into this crash.
FHP says the Chevrolet also hit a Toyota driven by a 42-year-old Tampa man who was stopped on Pitch Pine Circle.
The first report does not say he was seriously injured. That may be the end of it. But some injuries are not obvious at the scene, especially right after an unexpected impact.
If the Toyota driver was injured, his potential claim would be separate from the wrongful death case involving the woman who died.
She Was Waiting for a Bus
That part sticks.
It does not change the law. It does change how hard this crash is to read.
According to FHP, she was standing at a bus stop when a car left 56th Street, struck a culvert, went airborne and came toward her.
There was no driving decision for her to make. She was simply standing there.
Whatever comes out of the criminal case, this is a hard example of how one driver's actions can reach people who were nowhere near the decision that created the danger.
What Happens Next
Benny Wallace has been charged with DUI manslaughter. The criminal case will determine what the state can prove.
For the woman's family, the civil questions are different: what happened, what evidence exists, what insurance coverage is available and what losses Florida law recognizes after her death.
Armando Personal Injury Law represents people and families after serious and fatal crashes throughout Tampa and Hillsborough County.
Attorney Armando Edmiston is a Tampa native, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and trial attorney who has completed advanced forensic science training through the American Chemical Society. That background can be useful when a case turns on toxicology, impairment, crash reconstruction or disputed physical evidence.
Families with questions after a fatal crash can contact Armando Personal Injury Law to have the circumstances reviewed and learn what civil options may be available under Florida law.
Primary news source: Tampa Bay 28
About the Author
Attorney Armando Edmiston is the founder of Armando Personal Injury Law in Tampa and St. Pete, Florida. A U.S. Marine veteran, Hillsborough County native, and ACS Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, he represents Floridians in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases.