A driver originally thought to have intentionally run over a protected tortoise apparently did so accidentally, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says.
The 48-year-old crossing guard ran over the gopher tortoise on Aug. 11 outside San Jose Elementary School in Dunedin.
He later saw the video on TV and contacted the sheriff's office to identify himself as the driver.
According to investigators, the man and his wife were driving the route to his new job at the school, where he wanted to confirm the start and end times.
He told deputies he drove into the bus loop and stopped to see the school start times on the sign, then kept driving forward while looking back at the sign -- when he accidentally ran over the tortoise. As he kept rolling forward, he saw the tortoise in his rear-view mirror.
Deputies conducted their own reenactment at the school and determined the man was telling the truth.
"There is no evidence to indicate [the man] intentionally drove over the tortoise," the sheriff's office said.
Investigators say there is no evidence a crime was committed, and they are closing the case.
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