News

By Steven J. Smith

    A couple who had recently moved to a beachside neighborhood in southern Boca Raton were both struck and killed by a car on Dec. 17, while attempting to cross a dark patch of State Road A1A in Deerfield Beach.
    At 7:06 p.m., Francine Freedman, 80, and Philip Kendall, 85, were crossing Ocean Drive from west to east in the middle of the 600 block near the border of Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach.
    Mark Lasman, 64, of Boca Raton was the driver of the car heading northbound on A1A when his 2007 Lexus RX350 struck the couple. Lasman remained at the scene of the accident, where Freedman was pronounced dead. Boca Raton Fire Rescue transported Kendall to Delray Medical Center, where he soon died.
    A nearby streetlight was out and hampered visibility, according to Gina Carter, spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
    “Right now it’s all still under investigation, but there are no charges against Mr. Lasman pending,” Carter said. “It’s a small residential area and it’s a small road. The couple may have felt it was safe to cross there, even though they were basically crossing in the middle of the block. The speed limit is not very high there, so maybe they thought it was a comfortable place to cross. Unfortunately it was dark and with a streetlight out, it was more difficult to see them as they were crossing.”
    Carter maintained accidents of this kind are best averted by crossing roads at intersections rather than in the middle of the block.
    “Any time you’re crossing at the middle of the block, the driver may not be prepared or anticipating someone crossing at that location,” she said. “So the safest thing you can do as a pedestrian is always cross at the intersection.”
    Anyone with additional information is asked to contact BSO’s traffic homicide detective Keliher at (954) 321-4840 or report anonymous tips to either Crime Stoppers of Broward County at (954) 493-TIPS (8477) or online at www.browardcrimestoppers.org. Ú