A 46-year-old woman was fatally struck by Broward Sheriff's Office deputy as she crossed the street outside a hospital, where she had gone earlier complaining of chest pain.
The 3:09 a.m. crash occurred outside Broward Health Imperial Point, located at 6300 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. The woman was transported to North Broward Health, where she was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m.
Authorities said the woman and a man were trying to cross the street when she was struck. John Adams, who said he lived with her for five years, said they had gone to the hospital because she had been having chest pains, and she was hit as they tried to cross the street.
"She was the greatest person in the world, had a great heart, she used to give to everyone, she helped people that didn't have anything, she was just loving, she means everything to me, I don't know what I'm gonna do without her," Adams said, crying.
The BSO patrol car that hit the woman was driven by Cpl. Jeffrey Bates, 31, the BSO said.
Bates was hired by the agency in March 2002 and has had one preventable crash since then which involved no injuries and minor damage to the fender of his patrol vehicle, according to the BSO.
"The deputy will return to work for his normal shift unless he or his supervisor determine that's not appropriate for some reason," BSO spokeswoman Dani Moschella said.
Adams acknowledged that he and the woman were not crossing at a crosswalk on the highway.
"I heard the hit and I seen her flying in the air and she landed on her head, and she wasn't breathing," said Adams. "I tried to help her. I tried to give her CPR. I was trying to bring her back to life."
A witness said he saw paradmedics giving CPR to a woman.
The BSO's Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the crash.
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"They do a very thorough investigation, so they'll have all the answers to all the questions, including how fast the deputy was going," Moschella said.
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