Former Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. Killed in Bicycle Accident

LeRoy Collins Jr.

Former Navy admiral, U.S. Senate candidate and current state director of Veterans' Affairs LeRoy Collins Jr. was killed in a bicycle accident Thursday morning.

According to Tampa police, an SUV hit the 75-year-old as he rode his bike in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Tampa.

The driver was making a left-hand turn and apparently did not see Collins, who was in a pedestrian crosswalk at the time.

Collins was the son of former Florida governor LeRoy Collins and served most recently as director of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Governor Crist said Collins was a loyal and constant advocate for quality health care and economic support for Florida’s veterans.

University of South Florida Political Scientist Dr. Susan MacManus said Collins was passionate about his work. "Just a phenomenal man, very well respected. Tried to run for office, unsuccessfully, but kind of laughed it off, and as he became the chair and secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs he admitted that he had really found his niche in politics."

MacManus is an editor for University Press of Florida and said Adm. Collins had agreed to produce a book for UPF's "Florida Politics in Government" series. She said he was going to gather the articles that his father, Gov. Collins had written for newspapers such as the St. Petersburg Times and intersperse them with his own reactions to the events as they unfolded.

Collins received his commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956, transferred to the Navy Reserve in 1966 and retired as a two-star rear admiral in 1990.

He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006, losing in the Republican primary.

Along with his other endeavors, Collins served on the Tampa General Hospital Board of Directors and was the Director of the Collins Center for Public Policy.

He is survived by his wife, four children and eight grandchildren.