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NAPLES – A sign holder was struck and killed by a hit & run driver at a busy intersection in Naples on Monday. Stephen Duzick, who is also a little person, was holding a sign at the intersection of Pine Ridge Road and Shirley Street when a car veered onto the sidewalk and slammed into him.

“Some came to the restaurant and said your sign guy had been hit,” said Carl Osburn, Duzick’s employer and friend. Duzick struggled to breath and had blood coming from his mouth when Osburn arrived to help him.

Witnesses say the SUV jumped the curb before slamming into the 46 year old victim around Noon.
Bystanders rushed to help him before the paramedics arrived on the scene and airlifted him to Lee Memorial Hospital where he later died.

The suspect, Etem Alajbegu, was tracked down to the corner of Pelican Bay Boulevard North and U.S. 41 and taken into custody. There was damage to the 27 year old suspect’s Porsche Cayenne. Florida Highway Patrol investigators believe he was under the influence at the time of the crash. Alajbegu is charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.

As for Duzick, he was a regular – holding signs for businesses in the same area every day. “Steve had a sign company working for several businesses up and down the street,” said Osburn.

His death is sure to raise questions about the safety of sign holders at busy intersections. 4 In Your Corner checked into the rules and regulations for those who hold signs advertising businesses on street corners. According to Collier County Code Enforcement, sign holders are allowed on the streets as long as they do not cause a distraction to drivers.