IN BRIEF

Two cars collided Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of Maple Drive and Fletcher Avenue, causing one to flip and land on its side.

Joshua Ortiz, 24, was driving his Toyota pickup truck down Fletcher Avenue at 12:46 p.m., when Faten Hassan Hamam, 17, collided with Ortiz.

Hamam mistakenly pressed her foot on the gas instead of the brake pedal, Public Information Officer for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HSCO) Debbie Carter said. Hamam will be charged with careless driving and violation of a learner’s permit because she did not have a 21-year-old licensed driver in the passenger’s seat, Carter said. She also said the case file noted Hamam was “new to driving.” Ortiz will not be charged.

“There were no injuries in either vehicle,” Carter said, but noted that Ortiz was taken to University Community Hospital as a precaution.

Ortiz was discharged from UCH later that afternoon, said Margaret Vinecki, secretary of the pediatric and minor section at the hospital.

HSCO responded to the accident because Fletcher Avenue is considered off-campus, Public Information Officer Lt. Meg Ross said.

UP responded with “assistance and traffic control,” said Ross.

Hamam and Ortiz are not USF students.

-Amy Mariani