Pedestrian killed in Gulf County
A 63-year-old female pedestrian crossing the road just east of Mexico Beach Tuesday evening was struck and killed by a passing motorist along U.S. 98.
According to a news release from the Florida Highway Patrol, the individual was crossing Nutmeg Street inside the crosswalk, at about 6:10 p.m., when a 2013 Buick, driven by an 83-year-old individual was traveling east on U.S. 98.
“(The vehicle) was not able to stop, causing the front of the (vehicle) to collide with the pedestrian,” read the news release. “The pedestrian was thrown into the air traveling over (the vehicle) and onto the south shoulder of U.S. 98.”
The driver, who was wearing their seatbelt, did not suffer injuries, and was taken to Ascension Sacred Heart hospital in Port. St. Joe. The report said the driver’s accident was not alcohol related.
The pedestrian also was transported to Sacred Heart, where they were declared dead. The report said results of whether alcohol was involved in the pedestrian’s action is pending.
Friends have reported on Facebook that the victim was Gwen Hardee, of Port St. Joe.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.