DELTONA -- A 24-year-old pedestrian who reportedly had been drinking, sustained serious injuries when he walked into traffic along Deltona Boulevard early Thursday morning and got clipped by a passing tractor trailer, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office reported.
"According to a witness, the man had been drinking at a local lounge prior to the incident and was horsing around and dodging traffic when he walked into the road and collided with the side of a large truck equipped with a flatbed trailer," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.
The incident occurred at about 1:40 a.m. along Deltona Boulevard just east of Cloverleaf Boulevard.
A friend who was drinking with the victim anxiously called the Sheriff's Office right after the incident.
"Was he walking in the roadway?"the dispatcher asked. "Yes he was," the man replied.
Sheriff's deputies, who arrived on scene less than three minutes after the call, investigated the crash and concluded the driver wasn't at fault, Davidson said.
The victim, Robert Lee, was transported in critical condition by EVAC ambulance to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Lee sustained injuries to his head, pelvis and femur and as of mid-morning was still in surgery, Davidson said.