An Ocala pedestrian was killed late Saturday night when he was struck by a vehicle on U.S. Hwy. 441 in Marion County.
Thomas W. Lentz, 67, was pronounced dead at Ocala Regional Medical Center after being hit by a 2015 Kia Optima being driven by 66-year-old Drexel Brunson, also of Ocala. Brunson failed to see Lentz in the roadway near NW 56th Street before the incident occurred around midnight, a Florida Highway Patrol report states.
Neither Brunson nor his passengers – 65-year-old Pamala Brunson, of Ocala; 5-year-old Roy Denton IV, of Winterville, N.C.; and 5-year-old Pamela Denton, also of Winterville, N.C. – were injured. They all were wearing seat belts, the FHP report says.
Any charges that may be filed are pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation. It also hasn’t been determined if alcohol played a factor in the crash, the FHP report says.