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PD: 78-year-old man killed while crossing street in Florence, driver arrested

Fatal Florence crash .jpg
Posted at 5:29 AM, Jun 08, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-08 23:37:58-04

FLORENCE, Ky. — A 78-year-old man is dead after he was struck by a car in Florence, police said.

Charles Serra, of Elsmere, was attempting to cross Dixie Highway just south of Industrial Road around 11:20 p.m. Wednesday when he was hit by a Dodge Caravan traveling northbound, investigators said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Serra's 95-year-old mother Thelma and brother Michael knew him as Butch.

"I worshiped him," Thelma said through tears. "I loved him so much. I couldn't believe it. Why couldn't I have kept him a few more years?"

The family said his yard was his sanctuary as he'd spent his entire life working in landscaping and concrete.

"He'd get up in the morning as he drank his tea, he'd go right out and start working in the yard because he loved to do that," Thelma said. "He trimmed the trees. I can't tell you everything he did."

While the yard was his happy place, Michael said his brother's family was his heart and soul.

"He's got two daughters," he said. "He's got two precious grandkids, a little boy and a girl, and they just worshiped him to death. And he worshiped them."

Butch had cared for both of his ailing relatives through their years-long battles with breathing problems.

"He could hear me cough in the middle of the night and he'd run downstairs and make sure I was OK," Michael said. "If it wasn't for him calling the ambulance I might not have made it a couple times."

The Dodge caravan's driver, Kelly Schulze, of Columbus, was arrested and charged with DUI and second-degree manslaughter.

Schulze made a virtual appearance in court Thursday morning.

Kelly Schulze

She is currently in the Boone County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond, and her preliminary hearing is set for June 16.

This investigation is ongoing, Florence police said.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call the Florence Police Department at 859-647-5420.

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