Truck Driver Who Fatally Struck Man In Wheelchair Speaks Out
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A man in a wheelchair is dead Tuesday following an accident with a truck in Miami.
The accident happened just before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning at the intersection of NW 22nd Avenue and 23rd Street.
The man was attempting to cross the street when a construction truck hit and killed him.
The driver of the 18-wheeler, Addel Pena, is not facing charges as of Tuesday afternoon.
He spoke to CBS4's MaryAnn Martinez, telling her what it was like to be behind the wheel.
CLICK HERE to watch MaryAnn Martinez's report
Pena, in Spanish, told Martinez, that if someone hadn't told him that he hit someone, he would have dragged the man a few more blocks.
After the crash, which Pena said a police officer happened to see, got out his car to see what he'd hit.
Pena said he asked the victim if he was OK, he was alive, and just like that he was gone.
Pena told Martinez he's been a professional driver for ten years and has never hit anyone before.
A nurse, who didn't want to be identified, told CBS4's MaryAnn Martinez that the victim had been a patient at Jackson Memorial long term care center, a facility for those who require assistance much longer than hospital stay, for six years.
The nurse said the man was disabled after surviving a car crash, would use a wheelchair to leave the facility every other day.