OSPREY, Fla. — A bicyclist was killed after she was involved in a crash with an on-duty Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputy's patrol car, the agency said.
It happened around 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of S. Tamiami Trail and Bay Street in Osprey. According to a release from the Florida Highway Patrol, the 25-year-old deputy was driving his marked SUV north on U.S. Highway 41, also known as S. Tamiami Trail, in the outside lane approaching the intersection of Bay Street.
The deputy had a green light, according to FHP. As the deputy's SUV approached the intersection, a 24-year-old Osprey woman riding a bike crossed northbound Tamiami Trail going east to west at the intersection, cycling a past a red crosswalk light.
The woman's family identified her as Dayana Hernandez and told 10 Tampa Bay she was riding her bike home after finishing her shift at a local Walmart.
"This is very painful for everybody that loves her. Her husband, he's so young and he still cannot accept what happened," said Gloria Saddiqui, a family friend who was at the scene Friday morning, who says Hernandez also leaves behind a child.
"It's devastating the mean, especially for the husband, the kid--when the baby finds out the mamma is gone, it's going to be very hard on the baby," said another family friend Vince Patano.
The left front of the deputy's SUV hit Hernandez. She reportedly was critically hurt and rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where she later died.
FHP says their investigation to this point show's the deputy "did nothing wrong."
"As of this moment, we believe that the deputy was not going over the speed limit," said FHP Trooper Ken Watson.
"The bottom line is this when someone darts out in front of the vehicle he was traveling even at the speed limit, very difficult to see them especially under the cover of darkness and again when that cyclist does not have any lights," Watson explained, calling it a tragedy for everyone involved.
"Our thoughts go out to not only the victim but the deputy as well who is obviously also going through a very trying time," Watson added.
All north and southbound lanes on S. Tamiami Trail at the Bay Street intersection were closed for hours. The road has since reopened. Drivers had been asked to avoid the area and find an alternate route, if possible.
The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash, with the sheriff's office assisting, the agency said in a news release.
Editor's note: The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office originally identified the crash site as being in Sarasota. Crash maps show it happened in nearby Osprey. The family also informed 10 Tampa Bay Hernandez was 24 years old, not 22 as previously stated in FHP's report.