Gainesville Police released the name of the female pedestrian who died after being hit by a car Friday night.
At about 10:45 p.m., Shannon Michelle Lynn Justus, 44, and Daniel William Buhi, 40, were crossing Northeast Waldo Road near 16th Avenue when Eric Bernard Darby, 34, hit them with his 1987 Chevy Monte Carlo, Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email.
Justus was pronounced dead at the scene, and Buhi was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital where he remains in critical condition. He is expected to survive, Tobias said. Both Justus and Buhi were listed as homeless.
A witness told police Darby had a green light, Tobias said. No charges against Darby are expected as of press time.
Traffic was blocked in both directions for several hours following the accident, Tobias said.
Justus’ family learned of her death after they contacted the medical examiner’s office over the weekend. Contacting family members of homeless victims can be difficult, Tobias added.
The last time a pedestrian died after being hit by a car was Jan. 9, Tobias wrote, when UF student Jerry G. Declasse stepped into traffic on the 1200 block of Northeast Waldo Road — four blocks from where Justus and Darby were hit.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 4/7/2015 under the headline “GPD releases name of fatal accident victim”]
Clarification: Jerry Declasse's real name is Rude Jerry, but we referred to him as Jerry to better how we've named him in the past.
