DELTONA, Florida -- An
84-year-old woman was struck and killed by a vehicle while walking in a
Deltona shopping plaza parking lot Saturday afternoon. The Deltona
woman was pronounced dead on scene. The vehicle that struck her was
driven by a 17-year-old boy from Orange City, Florida. The Volusia County
Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the accident.
The
tragic accident happened at about 4 p.m. in a shopping plaza at 1200
Deltona Boulevard. The boy was with his family and they were preparing to go
into a laundromat. They had just unloaded their clothes while parked
alongside a curb and the boy’s mother then told the boy to drive their
van over to a parking spot.
The boy was in the roadway in front of the
businesses when his foot slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator. Volusia Sheriff's deputies say that this caused the van to lurch forward, jump a small median curb in the
parking lot, and then hit the victim as she was going to her car.
The van
kept moving forward, dragging the victim a short distance before
releasing her. The boy then circled around and stopped near where the
woman had fallen. He jumped out to check on her. But the van was still
on and the parking brake wasn’t engaged. The van rolled forward,
striking the woman a second time and kept going until it nearly hit the
front of one of the businesses.
The
woman’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The teen was cited for driving without a license, and the boy’s mother
was also given a citation for knowingly allowing an unlicensed person to
drive. The investigation is ongoing, but it’s believed that the
incident was an accident and at this time no criminal charges are
likely.
