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Pedestrian struck, killed on rural stretch of road in Pasco County

 
Published Jan. 8, 2012

SAN ANTONIO — A 48-year-old Lacoochee man died after being hit Friday night by a sport-utility vehicle while walking along Curley Road in Pasco County, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Authorities identified the man late Saturday as Rickey Devone Nelson. Nelson, injured on a dark, rural stretch of road, went unnoticed for 14 hours before he was discovered Saturday.

The crash happened about 7 p.m., approximately a mile south of State Road 52. Dawn D. Mcelven, of St. Leo, was driving south in a 2006 Honda when she looked down momentarily to check the time on her cellphone and hit something in the road, according to the FHP.

Mcelven, unsure of what she had hit, drove to a lighted area to stop and inspect her vehicle before calling 911. A Pasco sheriff's deputy came out and searched, but couldn't find anything in the area, which has no street lights, troopers said.

Nelson's body was found on the west side of the road about 9 a.m. Saturday.

No charges have been filed, and the investigation is ongoing.