TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A pretrial hearing is scheduled Tuesday afternoon for the man accused of running over and killing a jogger on Bayshore Boulevard.
It was one of several crashes in recent years that have people living near Bayshore wanting more done to keep people safe.
Benjamin Ehas is accused of speeding down Bayshore, swerving, and then hitting a jogger, sending him into the bay. Good Samaritans had to jump into the bay to try and save the jogger who later died. Police say Ehas crashed into the balustrade, and that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the crash.
“He had red, watery eyes. His pupils were constricted. In addition to that he was slurring his speech,” Tampa Police Cpl. Matthew Belmonte told a judge in January. Belmonte had interviewed Ehas at the hospital.
Ehas is currently behind bars until his case goes to trial.
The accident is one of several that have made safety a top issue in the neighborhood. The City of Tampa has made some improvements such as adding new traffic lights, more crosswalks, signs, and dropping the speed limit.
“Over the years, especially in the last three years we’ve seen some really horrible fatalities. These are very tragic and Bayshore has been on our mind,” Vik Bhide, the director of Transportation and Stormwater Services, told 8 On Your Side in May.
Despite the changes, many say that’s still not enough to prevent violent crashes like the one that happened in January.
Ehas’ pretrial hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday.
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