65-Year-Old Woman Killed During a High-Speed Collision with Deputy in Tampa

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on November 7, 2021

A Hillsborough County husband is trying to figure out how to move on with his life after his beloved wife of thirty-five years was tragically taken away from him during a deadly auto accident with an off-duty detention center deputy along North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa back in August.

It is an evening that will sadly be forever etched into Peter Richter’s memory, as the widow and sole survivor of a high-speed collision recalls the chain of events that led up to the fatal accident and his wife’s death nine days later. According to a first-hand account from Mr. Richter, the Lutz couple had just finished eating an evening meal at a local build-your-own burger bistro in Tampa on August 20, 2021. He and his 65-year-old wife Krista Richter, the driver, exited the restaurant’s parking lot in their Nissan Murano heading toward a turn lane on North Dale Mabry Highway so that they could access Sligh Avenue without having to perform a U-turn. Mr. Richter remembers that they both checked the intersection for oncoming traffic and had deemed it safe to proceed. As Mrs. Richter attempted to cross, a Ford Mustang that was traveling in the northbound direction slammed into the passenger’s side of their white SUV at a high rate of speed.

As soon as Hillsborough County emergency response teams arrived at the scene of the accident, Peter and Krista Richter were transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa in serious condition. Mrs. Richter was placed in a medically-induced coma due to the severity of her injuries, which included two broken arms, two broken wrists, one broken leg, one broken shoulder, and multiple internal injuries. She struggled to survive for nine days until her body could simply take no more and she passed away on August 29, 2021.

Investigators initially believed that the accident was caused because Mrs. Richter was in violation of the other vehicle’s right-of-way, however, further inspections of the crash site showed that 36-year-old Daniel L. Hernandez, an off-duty detention deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department, had reached a speed of 109 mph moments before impact.

The investigation into this car accident is still being conducted by the Florida Highway Patrol. Depending on the outcome of this case, Hernandez could face multiple charges, including vehicular manslaughter.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.