Woman dies while getting out of car on State Road 54 in Pasco County

A 40-year-old woman was killed shortly after midnight Saturday on State Road 54 in Pasco County when she was struck by a man driving an eastbound Ford Explorer near Crescent Moon Drive.

The Land O’ Lakes woman, who was driving a Honda Civic, had stopped on the side of the road for unknown reasons, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release. She opened her car door and got out as the 21-year-old man drove by in the passing lane.

He hit her and she died at the scene of the accident.

Her passenger, a 37-year-old man from Odessa, suffered minor injuries.

The driver of the Ford was not injured, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to preliminary figures from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Agency, more than 60 people have died in traffic accidents in Pasco County so far this year, including fourteen pedestrians.