PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – A 37-year-old Lakeland man died after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run crash along an interstate in Pinellas County on Friday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred around 8:19 p.m. near the 32 milepost of Interstate 275, just north of 4th Street North, troopers said.
According to a preliminary FHP crash report, one of the man’s tires had gone flat as he traveled southbound on I-275 in a Mazda 3, prompting him to stop along the shoulder.
He was in the process of changing the wheel when he was struck by a passing vehicle that failed to move over, the report states, adding he later died at a hospital.
The hit-and-run vehicle is possibly an unknown model Tesla, troopers said.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call *FHP (*347) or Crimestoppers at **TIPS (**8477).
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