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Man killed while trying to cross busy Osceola County roadway

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an early-morning crash in Osceola County that left a man dead.

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Troopers say the man was on foot trying to cross US Highway 192 near Celebration Ave. just before 1 a.m. Thursday when he was hit by a Nissan Sentra headed eastbound on US 192.

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The driver of the Sentra, identified as a 23 -year-old man from Orlando, made a U-turn to go back and see what he’d hit, according to FHP.

The driver told troopers he initially didn’t realize he had hit a person.

“Especially with how dark it was, the time of night it was,” FHP Lieutenant Tara Crescenzi said. “That’s why he turned around to come back to see what he did strike, and unfortunately, it was the pedestrian.”

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According to data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, through the beginning of March, there have been more than 1,500 crashes involving pedestrians across the state. Of those, at least 99 have been fatal.

Comparatively, in all of 2021, there were more than 9,500 crashes involving pedestrians that killed a total of 838 people.

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According to FHP, the man killed in Osceola County Thursday morning was not in a crosswalk or at an intersection. They have not said whether charges could be filed against the driver, as the crash remains under investigation.

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