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
Which is it? Did they hit or not?
The correct exit is a good 15 miles away.
See, that's what I meant about people not paying attention to the normal flow of traffic. You proved my argument.
Nor did I imply that it wasn't.
It still isn't "hit and run".
It is at most, leaving the scene of an accident.
Thanks, LOL!
Need more coffee...
Think "Duel" by a young Spielberg in the late 60's early 70's.
"Keep Right Except To Pass" trumps hat wearing foggies/cellphone yapping soccer moms doing an honest 54.9 in the left lane in my book.
Germany has no speedlimit in the leftlane!
In this country (to which you would seem to have only recently moved) there is a speedlimit in the leftlane and it's the same as in the rightlane.
If you want to speed go back to your homeland, eh! We already gotta' enough unlawful aliens as it is, and don't need another one.
Where do they have this fast lane/slow lane/merge system. Frankly, I've never seen it. All the lanes have the same speedlimit and left hand exits are common!
You don't know that.
Be honest.
Many of us when confronted with a jerk that rides on your bumper when traffic is in front of you limiting your speed won't pull over later when the traffic becomes clear because they're acting like such a jerk.
The fact is we don't know what happened. Most of us are courteous to those who are courteous to us. And then there are the jerks...
The driver of the black SUV made an unsafe lane change, causing the Rodeo driver to slam on his brakes. This cause the Rodeo to lose control, roll and eject the driver.
Seatbelt or not, I wouldn't want to be in a rolling Rodeo. PERIOD.
A secondary collison factor is the Rodeo driver inpeding the flow of traffic. Whether he was going the speed limit or not, it is still an infraction to impede the flow of traffic. He should have moved his dumb ass over into the #2 lane.
I hope they catch the other guy. He didn't even try to help him. Probably too mad for losing 15 seconds with his road rage antics.
OK..So this was a interstate freeway? If so you are to keep right except to pass.
On a full access four lane and in city/towns you should stay left as much as possible to allow those access onto the road from the right.
I won my case where a woman state trooper gave me a ticket for not staying right on a full access four lane.
It's nice to see some nice news, being reported.
According to a Google search,
For car insurance the definition of hit and run is:
"An accident caused by someone who does not stop to assist or provide information."
Obviously definitions very but that's the gist of it.
Cue the Star Wars Darth Vader music.
Sounds right to me.
You can't blame the SUV driver if the Rodeo driver was a bad driver.
The Rodeo does not handle like a Ferrari, and so the Rodeo driver has even more reason to stay out of dicey situations.
heheheh....don't worry 'bout it. There's been days when I've been coffeed OUT, and it STILL wouldn't overcome my 'blonde-ness'.
SUV's are dangerous, they will attack without provocation, it's unsafe to be in them!
How many times do you have to put "SUV" in a story to demonize them?
Failure of authorities to enforce the law should never be taken as license. We have the same problem with the Arizona/Mexico border area ~ the federales have not been enforcing it, so there are these millions of folks who think it's OK to waltz right over and take a job in Chicago.
The need to obey speed limits is of a piece with the need to enforce immigration laws.
"An accident caused by someone who does not stop to assist or provide information."
It's not clear to me that the SUV was the cause of the accident.
They're not. Safety involves a lot of factors, just one of which is vehicle size. Handling and braking performance are more important if you consider avoiding an accident a priority. Obviously, the Isuzu has some issues with its braking. A hard panic stop shouldn't cause the vehicle to flip over. SUV's are trucks, not sports cars. You can't drive them like they are Ferraris and expect to survive.
The biggest safety factor is not the vehicle, it is the mental attitude of the driver. Both of the drivers in this incident are/were idiots.
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