Former boxing champ Pernell 'Sweet Pea' Whitaker fatally struck by car in Virginia Beach

Former welterweight boxing champion Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker died after he was hit by a car in Virginia Beach Sunday night, police said.

Emergency dispatchers received a call just after 10 p.m. that Whitaker, 55, was struck at the intersection of Northampton Boulevard and Baker Road, according to a press release from the Virginia Beach Police department.

Whitaker died from his injuries at the scene, police said.

The investigation is still ongoing, according to police.

Whitaker made headlines in 2014 after he won a court case to evict his mother from a home in Norfolk he gave to her in the 1980s in order to pay his mounting bills.

Whitaker won a gold medal in the lightweight division at the 1982 World Championships and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.

Whitaker was a native of Norfolk, Virginia, and worked as a trainer after he retired from boxing.

Notable people who died in 2019

Slideshow of celebrities and trailblazers who left their mark on society and died in 2019.

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Controversial radio personality Don Imus hosted his syndicated show, "Imus in the Morning" for almost 50 years, building a large audience with his shock jock antics. However, in 2007 his racially charged comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team drew criticism and eventually he was fired by CBS. He was went to work for WABC in New York where he stayed until 2018. Imus was also known for working with sick and dying children at his Imus Ranch program.<br><br>Here, Imus hosts his last show on the Fox Business Network in 2015.

Richard Drew/AP, FILE