Pedestrian killed in North Fort Myers crash

A pedestrian has been killed after being struck by a vehicle in North Fort Myers, despite a witness’ attempt to save him, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The fatal crash took place Friday morning on Orange Grove Boulevard near Saint Clair Avenue.

Linda Buxin, a nurse, was awake reading her Bible when she heard the sound of the crash. She first thought the white car sitting in the median had struck a tree, but then she saw a man’s body in the road. She left her apartment in her bathrobe and attempted to save the man’s life.

“My instinct as a nurse was to just run to the body and check to see it there were any signs of life,” Buxin said. “At that time, I could get a heartbeat and a carotid pulse.”

Buxin said she began CPR and doing compressions.

“And I still lost him,” she said.

It made her feel terrible, she said. The man was homeless; Buxin said she had seen him in the area before, and given him food.

“There’s no excuse for this,” Buxin said. “There’s no excuse for the people going 45, 55, 60 miles an hour down this road.”

She also said she would like to see the speed limit in the area lowered.

The FHP confirmed that the man, whose age and city are unknown, suffered fatal injuries after a sedan, driven by a 51-year-old North Fort Myers woman, collided with him as he crossed the road.

“I was worried that it was one of my neighbors because they were trying to call me about it,” said Patrick Marquis, who lives near the crash site. “It’s just unnerving; I guess you don’t expect to see a lifeless body in front of your place.”

A traffic homicide investigation is now taking place.

In Southwest Florida, drivers who kill someone keep on going.

That didn’t happen this time.

“If you’re involved in a bad situation, you make it 10 times worse if you leave,” said FHP Lt. Greg Bueno. “And if you leave, whether there’s property damage, injury or death involved, that’s a crime.”