Woman, 87, injured when driver, 88, backs over her in Seminole parking lot

SEMINOLE — About a year and a half ago, doctors asked Florianne D'Aprile's family if they wanted to take her off life support. Her son said no — twice.

She recovered and returned to her home in Seminole, where she lived an active and independent life, watching the Tampa Bay Rays on television and gambling for fun.

Tuesday evening, D'Aprile's family was in another hospital room, with the 87-year-old woman attached to a ventilator once again.

D'Aprile was critically injured Tuesday morning after an 88-year-old woman backed over her in the parking lot of a CVS.

About 11:10 a.m., Pinellas sheriff's deputies said, D'Aprile was standing near her car in the parking lot of the store at 7405 Starkey Road when Moonyeen Everett backed over her with her Chrysler 300. D'Aprile was pinned under the car's front wheel as Everett backed up, dragging D'Aprile several feet.

A helicopter flew D'Aprile to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, where she was being treated for life-threatening injuries. She underwent surgery and was on a ventilator Tuesday evening, said her son, Rick D'Aprile.

"She just looks like she went through a meat grinder," he said. "These stories happen every day, but it's just so hard when it's your own mom."

Rick D'Aprile's wife, Lorrie, said her mother-in-law "is a tough bird. She defies all odds. She'll pull through this."

Everett, the woman in the Chrysler 300, wasn't cited Tuesday, but an investigation was ongoing.

Everett's driving record is clean, according to the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. She declined comment Tuesday evening while eating dinner at her residence, a senior living facility in Seminole.

Rick D'Aprile said he knows it was an accident, but hopes the woman who hit his mother won't be driving anymore.

"It's just so sad that when you have that much energy at 87 to get up and do things, you think you'd be safe in a CVS parking lot," he said. "She didn't deserve this."

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.