At approximately 9:50 p.m. on April 27, the Major Accident Investigation Team of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the intersection of Main Street and Carnation Drive in Dunedin. The call for service was for a crash involving a 2011 Kia Sedona and a pedestrian.
According to authorities, the incident occurred when a 52-year-old woman, Jodie Sechler, was traveling eastbound on Main Street. She was driving in the inside median lane near the Lake Haven Mobile Home Park. At this point, Timothy Cunnings, a 66-year-old pedestrian, attempted to cross Main Street heading northbound. For reasons that are not yet clear, Cunnings abruptly stopped in the continuous left turn lane and began to walk back in the direction from which he had come.
It was at this moment that Cunnings was struck by Sechler’s 2011 Kia Sedona. The impact of the collision was significant, and Cunnings was rushed to the trauma center at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg with life-threatening injuries. At this time, his condition is unknown.
According to investigators, neither speed nor impairment appears to have been a factor in the crash. While it is too early to say what caused the incident, authorities are continuing their investigation.