A 68-year-old High Springs man who was blocking traffic on US Highway 27 was hit and killed when a pickup truck swerved to avoid traffic and hit the pedestrian as he exited the roadway on Wednesday morning.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) release, a 66-year-old Newberry man was driving a pickup truck north on US 27 (State Road 45) just south of High Springs near NW 172nd Avenue at 11:13 a.m. when, for unknown reasons, a 68-year-old High Springs man was in the roadway, causing traffic to back up in both directions.
The pickup truck swerved onto the east shoulder of US 27 to avoid the stopped traffic at the same time the High Springs man exited the roadway, and the pickup struck the pedestrian on the shoulder of the road.
Emergency responders transported the High Springs man to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where he was pronounced dead.
I really wish these stories had more details about what actually happened. Guessing the pedestrian crossed 27 and caused traffic to stop for his crossing, and then was exiting on the right shoulder of the road right about the time that good ole boy looked up from his cell phone and realized he was about to rear end the car in front of him, so pickup truck swerved to the right to avoid the stopped cars then plowed into the pedestrian.