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Tampa man arrested in hit and run after running over person lying on road, police say

Stephen Patterson is facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with death and driving while license canceled, suspended or revoked.
 
Stephen Patterson is facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with death and driving while license canceled, suspended or revoked.
Stephen Patterson is facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with death and driving while license canceled, suspended or revoked. [ Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office ]
Published Aug. 10, 2021|Updated Aug. 11, 2021

A Tampa man ran over and killed a person lying on East Robson Street in Tampa just east of North Nebraska Avenue Saturday night before leaving the scene of the incident, Tampa police said.

Stephen Douglas Patterson, 51, was driving a 2006 Ford F-350 pickup truck south on North Nebraska Avenue before turning right onto East Robson Street, officers said. As he did so about 10:45 p.m., his front right tire drove over the victim, who was lying on the road. Officers said Patterson then got out of his truck and saw the man underneath.

Patterson and an unnamed witness moved the victim out from under the truck and to the side of the road. Patterson then got back in his truck and drove off without providing any medical assistance, leaving any information or calling 911, police said.

When Tampa Fire Rescue arrived, the victim was still breathing, but by the time the victim arrived at Tampa General Hospital, he was pronounced dead. An autopsy from the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner determined the preliminary cause of death to be multiple crush injuries to the victim’s chest.

Tampa police located Patterson Monday at a Value Lodge at 210 East Fowler Ave. Before he was taken into custody, officers said they could hear Patterson telling his kids goodbye and saying he loved them.

Patterson admitted to hitting a person, officers said.

Patterson is facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with death and driving with a license that is canceled, suspended or revoked. Officers said a background check on Patterson showed there have been multiple suspensions on his license since 2010.

He was being held at the Hillsborough County jail Tuesday in lieu of $17,000 bail.

The Tampa Police Department did not release the name of the victim involved in the crash because of its interpretation of Marsy’s Law, a voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution that was meant to protect crime victims but that deprives the public of information long available under Florida’s public records law.