TAMPA — A 75-year-old woman trying to hot-wire her truck died when the vehicle started suddenly and ran over her, authorities say.
About 10:40 Sunday night, Jacqueline Cloward popped the hood to her 1989 Ford F-150 truck and started using a screwdriver to start it. The truck was in the Sweetbay supermarket parking lot at 4519 Gunn Highway and the gear shift was in drive, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
When the engine started, the truck rolled forward over a parking block, knocked Cloward down and ran over her. Cloward of 108 Genesee St. died at the scene.
A relative who arrived at Cloward's house Monday declined to comment.
Outside Cloward's home Monday, neighbors gathered to remember her. Cloward and her husband, Robert, bought the house more than 30 years ago, according to records from Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's Office.
Jason Fonville, 30, who lives across the street, said Cloward used to bake him brownies, and he often mowed her lawn. Other neighbors said she regularly brought over banana bread. "She was the sweetest lady," Fonville said.
Monday was her husband's 82nd birthday.
Times staff writer Alexandra Zayas and researcher John Martin contributed to this report.
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