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Florida man drives around construction barricades, hits 2 workers, troopers say

Charles Kunath, 68, faces charges of attempted homicide and aggravated battery

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – A Palm Harbor man faces several charges after he allegedly struck two construction workers with his car, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

In a release, troopers said that the man — Charles Kunath, 68 — was driving south on Lake St. George Drive on Friday morning near Tampa Road.

During his drive, though, Kunath came across some construction barricades, which were set up while Pinellas County workers attended to a flooded section of the roadway that had been washed out, the release shows.

Kunath drove around the construction barricades that indicated the road was closed, troopers said.

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Workers tried to flag Kunath to stop, but he instead sped up and crashed into two workers: a 49-year-old Pinellas Park man and a 49-year-old Clearwater man, according to the release.

Investigators said Kunath fled the scene, but troopers were later able to find and arrest him at his home.

Meanwhile, both of the men Kunath struck suffered serious, life-threatening injuries because of the collisions, and were taken to the hospital for treatment, troopers added.

Now, Kunath faces charges of attempted vehicular homicide, aggravated battery involving a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of a crash with injury, reckless driving involving serious injury, and several other traffic violations.

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