Police have identified a pedestrian who was critically injured when he was hit by a car in the wee hours Wednesday on U.S. Hwy. 27/441 in The Villages.
Anthony Heine, 36, of St. Augustine, was “breathing but unresponsive” when he was found by emergency personnel at about 5 a.m. at U.S. Hwy. 27/441 and Wales Plaza, not far from the entrance to Spanish Springs Town Square, according to the Lady Lake Police.
He had been struck by a black Hyundai Sonata driven by 65-year-old Eunice Young, who lives in the Oak Meadows section of The Villages. She was stopped in the roadway with her car’s hazard lights activated. Heine was lying in the middle of the roadway.
She told police she had been traveling northbound on U.S. Hwy. 27/441 with a green traffic signal when she suddenly felt a severe impact and realized she had struck a pedestrian. She reported she did not see Heine as he crossed the roadway in the crosswalk toward Wales Plaza. Her vehicle sustained significant front-end damage, including damage to the windshield.
Heine was located approximately 67 feet north of the crosswalk. Lake County EMS transported him to Ocala Regional Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition.
Kling Towing removed the vehicle from the scene. All northbound lanes of U.S. Hwy. 27/441 were blocked at Main Street during the investigation, and the roadway was fully reopened at 8:50 a.m.
No citations have been issued at this time. Due to the seriousness of the injuries, a Traffic Homicide Investigation is ongoing.