Hit-and-run suspect found guilty for 2010 accident
June 02, 2015On behalf of Terence Gross of Gross & Schuster, P.A. posted in Wrongful Death on Wednesday, July 25, 2012.
When people are involved in car accidents, whether they cause them or not, they should stop to make sure others involved are alright. Failing to do so can lead to serious criminal charges, as one Florida man knows well.
A 26-year-old man who was allegedly involved in the death of his 22-year-old passenger in December 2010 was recently on trial. Jurors found him guilty on hit-and-run charges for the man’s wrongful death.
The dispute occurred on Hollywood Avenue, according to police. The two men were traveling in a red pickup truck when they got into a dispute. The passenger apparently attempted to get out of the vehicle as it was being driven off by the other man, but the passenger door closed, leaving him inside.
The pair apparently began punching each other inside the truck when the passenger door swung open and the passenger fell out. He was found in the 4300 block of Hollywood Avenue in the early morning after the dispute. He sustained serious injuries and was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
It took police several days to catch up with the driver. According to media reports, he was spotted by Escambia County sheriff’s deputies near a Walmart store on Highway 29 a few days later. Authorities were eventually able to stop the truck on West Roberts Road.
He was found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death. Sentencing was scheduled for later.
Source: Pensacola News Journal, “Jury finds Cantonment man guilty in accident involving death,” Thyrie Bland, July 18, 2012
