By Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, October 14, 2010
TAMPA — After more than two months of investigating, police do not know whether retired Navy admiral Lee Roy Collins Jr. was in a crosswalk or in the road when he was fatally hit by a car.
As a result, the 26-year-old doctor from Tampa General Hospital who hit Collins with her beige Infiniti has not been cited.
Police released details Thursday of the investigation, which also states that Collins was not wearing lights on his bike and that the protective shell of his helmet had been removed prior to the crash, leaving him with only the foam liner.
The crash happened around 6:30 a.m. July 29 at Brorein Street and Hyde Park Avenue. Margaux Manuel told investigators she was on her way to work at the hospital on Davis Islands when she stopped at a red light at that intersection.
Manuel said she looked both ways before making a left turn, according to the police report. She said she didn't see Collins until she hit him.
Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said police and the State Attorney's Office did not deem criminal charges appropriate. But whether Manuel would have received a traffic citation depended on whether Collins was riding in the crosswalk.
Investigators don't know.
Physical evidence at the scene did not offer clues, and no witnesses have come forward, McElroy said.
"We may never know the answer," McElroy said.
Anyone who may have information is still urged to call police at (813) 231-6130.
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