Gainesville FL Fatal

Gainesville FL Fatal

GPD investigates fatal crash involving motorized wheelchair

Published: Monday, December 21, 2015 at 10:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 21, 2015 at 10:15 a.m.

Authorities are investigating a fatal crash that happened Saturday in which a woman in a wheelchair died after being hit by a truck on Northwest 43rd Street.

A truck turning north from Northwest 27th Lane onto Northwest 43rd Street struck the woman, 53-year-old Naomi Katheryn Young, who was in a motorized wheelchair, Gainesville Police Department spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said in an email. The accident happened around 10:15 a.m. Saturday.

It appears Young tried to pass in front of the truck while traveling south in the northbound bicycle lane, Tobias said. But the truck was raised up high because it was carrying a trailer, so the driver did not see Young.

Officers arrived on-scene and Young was taken to a local hospital, where she died, Tobias said. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

— Morgan Watkins