The Sarasota Police Department is asking anyone with information about a hit-and-run incident with injury on the north Siesta Bridge early this morning to contact the department at 941-364-7323.
A construction worker, 60-year-old Larry Norris of Lakeland, sustained broken bones after he was struck by a four-door Lexus and knocked over the bridge, Capt. Paul Sutton told The Sarasota News Leader.
The incident occurred at 2:22 a.m. today, Aug. 1.
Norris fell 15 feet, Sutton said, though Sutton added that he did not believe Norris ended up in the bay. “It is my impression [Norris] landed on solid ground,” Sutton said.
Norris was treated at the scene, then transported by rescue squad to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
Because of privacy laws, Sutton said, he could not be more specific about Norris’ injuries other than to say they are not life-threatening.
According to the report, Sutton said, Norris and two other workers saw the Lexus swerve into barrels used to block off one lane of the bridge before it struck Norris and kept on going.
The vehicle was reported to have a barrel wedged under its front end when it left the scene, Sutton said. It last was spotted on Midnight Pass Road, Sutton said, having turned onto that road from Higel Avenue.
The car was described as burgundy, Sutton said. “We think it has front-end damage and passenger-side damage.”
Referring to the time of the incident, Sutton pointed out that bars on Siesta Key typically close at 2 a.m., though he added no one could be certain at this time about what was the cause of the collision.
The Florida Department of Transportation has been closing one lane of the north bridge between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. nightly since the second week of June to rehabilitate various structures on the bridge.
The project is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 16.