ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — St Petersburg police said 22-year-old Tyler Brady is accused of hitting and killing an elderly woman on his electric scooter. The electric scooter belonged to Brady, and it wasn't the kind you rent.
Police said the accident happened at 12:10 pm on Thursday, Nov. 4, along 18th Avenue near 66th Street North in St Petersburg
Brady was riding his electric scooter and said, when the light turned green, he went to cross. Brady said he was heading to a friend's house and didn't see the woman on her bike until two seconds before he hit her.
The woman was identified by police as 77-year-old Alvera Minutello. She was riding her bike along 18th Avenue when Brady crashed into her, police say. Brady said he hit Minutello head-on.
Brady spoke to 10 Tampa Bay from inside his jail cell at the Pinellas County Jail. Brady said he didn't swerve.
“I definitely could have, but it was a very tricky situation where my electric scooter had wide handlebars so we could’ve crossed paths either way," Brady explained.
Investigators with the St Petersburg Police Department stated in a release, "Investigators said the scooter failed to swerve out of the way despite the majority of the eastbound lane on 18th Avenue North being open and unobstructed."
Brady said he also didn't stop because his brakes are delayed on his electric scooter.
While in jail he's said he has thought about the crash and wishes he could've done things differently. "So many things I want to change right now, that I can’t right now," Brady stated.
Friends of Minutello said she was riding her bike to Publix to get frosting for a cake she was baking. Her husband began to worry about her when he realized she hadn't returned home in three hours. That's when friends said her husband checked in with police and local hospitals. According to Minutello's friend, she suffered head trauma.
Brady explained he feels bad for Minutello's family. "I can tell you I feel very sincere. I know what it’s like to lose someone because I had that in my life," Brady stated.
Brady said while he didn't break or swerve, he didn't want to hurt Minutello.
"I did think about it. It wasn’t my intention to hit her at all. I want to make that severely clear. I have no intention of hurting this lady at all," Brady explained.
Brady remains in the Pinellas County Jail with a $10,000 bond on manslaughter charges.