Police ID Man Killed Crossing a Clearwater Street

Police have released the identity of a Clearwater man who was struck and killed while crossing Missori Avenue on Saturday.

Paul Francis Almeida, 57, was attempting to cross Missouri just south of Turner Street around 7:42 that evening, according to Clearwater Police, when he was hit by a 2006 Toyota van headed southbound on Missouri.

Almeida was taken to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities had been trying to notify his next of kin, who live out of state, before revealing his identity.

Charges were not immediately filed against the van's driver, 32-year-old Andrew Philip Drake, of Clearwater, who told detectives he saw Almeida in the roadway but that he was unable to avoid hitting him, according to officials.

Drake was not injured.