Posted on 04/27/2005 3:36:48 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
TAMPA - Vincent Edward Tucker refused to get out of the fast lane when a man driving a large, black SUV pulled up behind him honking the horn on the Courtney Campbell Parkway Tuesday morning.
Tampa police say that's when the road rage began.
The SUV was relentless, and Tucker just wouldn't budge, witnesses said. They told investigators that the SUV's driver and Tucker got into a "heated argument" while traveling westbound on the Courtney Campbell, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. Gestures were exchanged by both, possibly even words, she said.
The black SUV eventually got into the right lane and passed Tucker's silver Isuzu Rodeo, then veered back into the fast lane, cutting him off, McElroy said. Tucker tried to avoid hitting the SUV by slamming on his brakes.
McElroy said the two vehicles never collided, but Tucker's maneuver caused his Rodeo to flip, and he was ejected because he wasn't wearing a seat belt. He later died in surgery at Tampa General Hospital.
The SUV driver never stopped.
"We have road rage. We have a hit and run. We have somebody who is dead," McElroy said. "And we have to find who is responsible."
The accident happened about 11:30 a.m. between the Ben T. Davis beach and a boat ramp west of there. McElroy said police hit-and-run detectives believe the SUV driver was a man, based on information from the only two drivers who had come forward with details Tuesday afternoon.
McElroy could only describe the hit-and-run vehicle as "a shiny, full-size SUV."
"This is a very serious accident, a very serious crime, and we have to find this driver," McElroy said. "We're going to assume that this is going to weigh very heavily on the conscience of the person involved."
McElroy said the driver of the black SUV had to have known that Tucker's vehicle flipped. She said she hopes that if he talks with family members or friends about the incident, they will call police.
Vincent Tucker, 33, lived at 7101 Lawnview Court with his mother, Glenda Tucker. A woman who answered the door at their Town 'N Country home Tuesday evening said the family did not wish to speak with reporters.
Cynthia Alvarez, who lives across the street from the Tuckers, has a son a year older than Vincent Tucker.
She said she often spoke with Tucker's mother because their sons had a lot in common.
"Vince is a very quiet person," she said. "He is either at work or back home."
Alvarez has known Tucker and his mother since they both moved into the neighborhood about four years ago. Before living in Florida, the Tucker family lived in North Carolina, according to state records.
Alvarez said Tucker spent most of his time watching television or using the computer.
He worked in Pinellas County for a company that made hotel reservations, she said. And whenever she or her son needed anything, like the time her car broke down, Tucker and his mother offered to help.
"I would like that driver to please come forward," Alvarez said. "There is just no reason why anyone would do something so stupid in the road that would take someone's life."
Detectives ask that anyone who may have information about the SUV driver call Tampa police at (813) 276-3578.
Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this story. Kevin Graham can be reached at 813 226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com
With someone like that, what I like to do is change lanes ever so slowly. It takes a mile or so before I get all the way over.
I was wrong. I was traveling overseas nearly all the time in the seventies and took no long driving trips until later.
I blame Jimmy for most things now.
yeah ,...here in NYC it is a freeforall,no s**t,...I've seen so much crazy driving RIGHT IN VIEW OF NYPD ,...every so often there's a day when NYPD has a crackdown,but that's usually seatbelt and cellphone ticketblitz ,...I've been here 26-27yrs and I think the [unwritten] rule is , if the light is RED FOR ONLY 2-3 SECONDS , YOU CAN GO THROUGH , some drivers blow the horn , but I think that's for the pedestrians surging from both sidewalks
Exactly the point. Had the person anticipated and gotten into the proper lane, the stoppage might be avoided. The 'lame brain' that thinks they should be able to pass 10 cars and go to the front of the line, because they are so much more important than those that have been patiently waiting already.
Not only shouldn't you have a carry permit, but you shouldn't have a driving permit either.
You are a liberal gun-grabbers dream.
I only make a point out of assigning blame to Nixon because I want the historical record corrected: he was NO conservative. EPA? Wage and price controls? [spit]
I'll agree to yours if the converse applies to the mother living moron who started the mess and payed the ultimate price for his stupidity. The road is not the place to carry out whatever childish fantasies you might still harbor as an adult, nor is it the place to be totally and blissfully ignorant of what is going or not going on around you. Situational awareness is just as big an advantage in a motor vehicle as in an airplane. Maybe even more so.
The streets and highways of America are dangerous and serious places where the majority of folks are going to and fro making a living. It becomes painfully obvious when someone is playing games at others expense, and can bring out the worst in those being played. Stick to business, and above all do not get in personal confrontations with idiots. Easier said than done, in this day and age.
I will go out of my way to not lead confrontationalists to my home, my place of business, or anywhere I am known. I will lead them all over town and to the nearest police presence, but never a personal confrontation. That is not in anyones best interest. Your ability to survive on todays roads will be improved greatly the more time and effort you put into your driving knowledge and ability.
We have "open carry". No need for a permit. Just keep the gun in sight. A window rack in your pickup is a good way to handle the issue.
Where is that, and what was the rationale behind the law? I actually don't have a problem with light flashing as an initial indicator to someone that you'd like them to move. Personally, I find it more polite than horn-honking, provided it's not high beams. It's the abuse of constant light flashing, once the point has been made that bothers me.
For example, once I was driving at night on a two-lane road. I was going below the speed limit, but only because there was another car in front of me. I was only 20 or 30 miles or so from my destination by that point (on a 400 mile trip), and there was heavy traffic in the oncoming lane, so I made no attempt to pass.
Eventually, some guy comes up behind me and doesn't like my speed. He kept laying into his high beams for 10 or 15 miles. I ignored him. There was nothing I could do, and I wasn't going to make a difficult pass just to satisfy him. Finally, he attempted to go around me. I don't think he realized there was another car in front of me. He didn't have the time to get past two cars, and very nearly ran me off the road coming back into the right lane.
What state are you in that it's a felony to flash the lights? Do you have a cite for that?
Obviously no one in NJ has ever driven I-95.
At least here in Ohio (I'm basing this on what I was taught in drivers' training many years ago plus a successful appeal to a judge by a high school chum who was doing 70 in a 45 zone in perfect weather conditions) the "legal" speed limit is contingent on road conditions. In lousy weather and/or heavy traffic someone doing the "speed limit" can be cited for speeding if a cop judges that to be an unsafe speed under the existing conditions. Likewise, with no traffic, perfect weather, and a straight road my friend got out of his ticket by pointing out to the judge that his speed was not excessive under the conditions he was driving in.
There seem to be quite a few people who believe that so long as they are maintaining some semblance of the speed limit, or even when they are driving well under it, that they "own" whatever lane they are occupying. This practice causes not only frustration to other drivers who want or need (there are cases where getting someplace on time is important) to pass them and are forced to do so on the right but it disrupts what is the natural flow of traffic.
The main exceptions to all this are left lane exit ramps and places where highways are dividing into separate roads. Those are usually clearly marked well beforehand.
In the case of this incident there's nothing in the article saying the "victim" was exiting or staying left to get or stay on a particular highway. We only know that a driver who wanted to legally pass the guy got incensed and words and gestures were exchanged, he finally made an (in some States) illegal passing maneuver on the right, and then moved back over without hitting the first vehicle. That vehicle then flipped and the unbelted driver made an unscheduled flight from the car. Other than the crash, this kind of thing, people occupying the left lane and refusing to yield to faster motorists, happens every day and is IMHO bad driving practice.
Which means that it is NOT illegal to pass on the right. And, FYI, I was in the left lane to make a left exit -- which is legal anywhere and everywhere. If it's not, then show me where it is not legal.
But closing ranks only exacerbates the problem for everyone else, and the "everyone else" matters as much as your galled sensibilities.
I figure I can't change an idiot's behavior, or control him, but I can ease the traffic situation he's causing by NOT becoming an equally egotistical idiot that assumes the guy is making a personal assessment of me by getting ahead of me. Why should I care? Why do you care? He OWNS you with his actions, if you let him, and you respond accordingly...and become part of the problem.
...with their left turn signal blinking the entire time...
>Exactly the point. Had the person anticipated and gotten into the proper lane, the stoppage might be avoided. The 'lame brain' that thinks they should be able to pass 10 cars and go to the front of the line, because they are so much more important than those that have been patiently waiting already.<
I've left plenty of room for this type driver to get over in the correct lane in the past, only to have them stay to the right, in hopes of getting in front of a few more cars. I finally had to speed up, in deference to the people behind me, leaving the merger stuck in front of the barricades. Go figure.
I usually avoid the center lane. Too boxed in for me. There is one exception though. Long overpasses or curvy overpasses. I don't like the thought of an accident sending a vehicle over the edge. I also don't like heights so maybe that plays into it too! lol
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