Gainesville Police are looking for information about a Tuesday morning crash involving a semitruck and a woman who was found on the road with severe injuries.
At about 3 a.m., an officer heard a loud crash coming from a truck driving south on Northeast Waldo Road, wrote GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias in an email. The truck, driven by 62-year-old Wayne Primm of Virginia, slowed down but didn’t stop.
The officer then saw a woman, later identified as 34-year-old Cherry A. Smith, lying in the middle of the road at the intersection of Northeast Third Avenue, Tobias said. The Gainesville resident was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
After police issued an alert for the truck, another officer stopped it at the intersection of Southeast 16th Avenue and Southeast Williston Road, Tobias said. The officer reported that Primm seemed sleepy. The officer also observed a wig stuck in the front grill of the truck.
Police later found Primm had been driving for more than 12 hours. He began his trip at about 2 p.m. and made a stop in Jacksonville. Investigators also found that Smith was crossing Northeast Waldo Road when Primm hit her.
Residents are encouraged to call GPD’s Traffic Safety Team at 352-393-7744 with any information.
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 10/23/2013 under the headline "Semitruck driver hit woman, didn’t stop"
