Pinellas deputy fatally strikes man with patrol car

A Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy fatally struck a man with his patrol car in Lealman early Sunday, deputies said.

Deputy Christian Lira-Rangel, 33, was driving a fully-marked Chevrolet Tahoe south in the median lane on 49th Street about 12:50 a.m. when the crash happened, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

As Lira-Rangel approached 58th Avenue North, an unidentified woman in a red pickup truck driving north on 49th Street pointed toward the southbound lanes “as if she was attempting to alert him to something, ultimately turning his attention from the road,” the release said.

Lira-Rangel felt a bump, stopped immediately and found a man lying in the median lane.

The man, 73-year-old Mark Hunter of Clearwater, died at the scene.

Witnesses told deputies that Hunter was seen sitting in same lane prior to the crash and appeared “alert but confused,” according to the sheriff’s office. He was not in a designated crosswalk at the time, deputies said.

The sheriff’s office said speed does not appear to be a factor in the crash and that it was unclear if Hunter was impaired at the time. The crash remained under investigation Sunday.