An Ocala man in a wheelchair was killed Tuesday night and a bicyclist was seriously injured when they both were struck by a car in Marion County.
Roberto Villa De Loera, 72, was traveling west on SW 90th Street in the eastbound lane, just west of County Road 475A, when he was hit by a 2004 Toyota Scion driven by 18-year-old Riley Sterner, of Gainesville, a Florida Highway Patrol report states. De Loera was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later.
Sterner’s vehicle also struck 34-year-old bicyclist Ulises Perez Ortiz, who wasn’t wearing a helmet. Ortiz was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center with serious injuries, the FHP report says.
The incident happened shortly before 6 p.m. when Sterner was traveling east on SW 90th Street. She failed to properly yield and the right front of her vehicle struck De Loera’s wheelchair, causing him to be ejected and come to rest in the wood line located on the shoulder of the roadway, the report says.
Sterner’s vehicle then collided with Ortiz’s bicycle. He came to rest on the south shoulder of the roadway and her vehicle stopped in the nearby wood line facing southeast, the report says.
It hasn’t been determined if alcohol played a part in the crash and charges are pending the outcome of the traffic homicide investigation, the report says.