According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the 98-year-old man ran a red light at U.S. 19 and Darlington in Holiday early Sunday morning. That’s when he collided with the Sheriff’s Office vehicle.
The deputy had one passenger in his car, a Sheriff’s Explorer, which is a volunteer who job-shadows deputies to learn about law enforcement.
The 98-year-old man, identified as William Vatalaro Sr., along with the Sheriff’s Deputy, 30-year-old Hans Bollenbacher, and the Sheriff’s Explorer, were transported to the Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, where the elderly man later died.
Both the Sheriff’s Deputy and the Sheriff’s Explorer were treated and released.
