Florida Highway Patrol Arrests Man After Fatal Crash
Orlando police had to hunt for a driver of a red minivan who fled the scene after striking a woman in a fatal accident a few weeks ago.
A 21-year-old woman was reportedly struck by a pickup truck at 1:30 a.m. on State Road 50 as she stepped from her vehicle, which had just been involved in a two-car crash. She was then struck and dragged by a red minivan, which was traveling in the left turn lane. Both vehicles fled the scene of the crash without providing any information.
The driver of the pickup truck returned to the site about three and a half hours later, however. The Florida Highway Patrol arrested the 49-year-old man for leaving the crash, but could not yet track down the driver of the red minivan.
What was a tragic accident to begin with became a criminal scene when the two drivers fled from the crash. Even if an accident doesn’t appear serious, most accidents require you to remain at the scene to exchange identification and insurance information with any other drivers or pedestrians who may have been involved, prevent anyone who may be at fault from leaving the scene themselves and, most importantly, to help anyone who might be injured. While you should always remain at the scene of even a minor accident to exchange information at the very least, your duty to stay is especially important if:
- Anyone is injured, including drivers, passengers, pedestrians and bystanders.
- A pet is injured, which is considered property damage.
- Property, including parked vehicles, signposts or even trees, is damaged.
Both witnesses and passengers are free to leave the scene, but the driver is required to stay until the arrival of law enforcement, unless incapacitated by the accident or otherwise injured or disabled enough to be prevented from exchanging information or offering assistance.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a vehicular accident and another driver involved neglected to remain at the scene, speak with an experienced Orlando auto accident lawyer at Salazar & Kelly Law Group, P.A.
