It was a little good news, in the epidemic of Florida hit-and-run crashes: The Florida Highway Patrol made an arrest of a 49-year-old driver from Davenport after two case-cracking anonymous tips.
In January, a 37-year-old, also from Polk County, broke down on the side of the U.S. 27 in Lake County. While a tow truck operator assisted, the man tried to direct traffic away from the vehicles but instead had the opposite effect: A driver crashed into the man, launching him into the mirror of the tow truck. The 37-year-old died at the scene.
Troopers identified Charles Millan Ramirez as the suspected driver after a witness called with a crucial tip: The vehicle that left the scene of the accident was a white Kia Soul with Indiana license plates.
Lt. Tara Crescenzi of the Florida Highway Patrol said a second tip sent investigators to a hotel where they discovered the smashed-up Kia in the parking lot. They obtained a search warrant and towed the car.
Crescenzi said Ramirez turned himself in the next day to Clermont Police.
“If he would have remained on scene, this could have been an entirely different situation,” Crescenzi said.
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Crescenzi said there were 104,273 hit-and-run crashes in 2023 in Florida. Most were minor but 871 people were seriously injured and 271 people lost their lives.
“It’s absolutely devastating,” Crescenzi said. “If they were to just stay on scene, make a phone call, we could have gotten lifesaving measures there faster. But because they decided to flee the scene, that person was left to die.”
The penalties for leaving the scene of a crash that causes injury include losing your license for three years and up to five years in prison.
But leaving the scene of a crash that causes a death is much more severe. A conviction brings a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison and up to 30 years.
Crescenzi said the problem goes even deeper.
“If he would have just moved over the lane, this crash wouldn’t have happened,” Crescenzi said. “A lot of people are not moving over.”
Law enforcement across Florida last year handed out 17,544 tickets for Move-Over Law violations. Crescenzi said not moving over a lane when a vehicle was stopped on the side of a highway resulted in 204 crashes.
Most citations went to young adult between 20 and 29 years old.
Florida’s Move-Over Law has been on the books for more than 20 years. Last year it was strengthened to include moving over a lane for just about any vehicle stopped on the side of the road. If you cannot move over one lane, you are required to slow down 20 mph below the speed limit.
Crescenzi said if you witness a crash, please take pictures or video because that can make the difference between a family seeing justice or a criminal walking free.
And if you end up in a crash and cannot move your vehicle to the side of the road, never stand outside your vehicle. Crescenzi suggested staying in your vehicle with your seat belt fastened in case you are hit.