ROCKLEDGE, Fla. – Authorities in Brevard County have made an arrest Thursday morning in connection with a hit-and-run crash in a Rockledge neighborhood.
News 6 partner Florida Today reports Rockledge police activity began shortly after 8 a.m., with officers stationed in and around Jamestown Drive, located just east of Fiske Boulevard and near Levitt Parkway.
Authorities said 42-year-old Mark Wells, of Merritt Island, ran over a plumber on Jamestown Drive and then fled the scene on foot. The victim was pinned between two vehicles and suffered serious injuries, police said.
"I cannot even imagine how horrible it would have been to be stuck there between those vehicles in pain," Deputy Chief Donna Seyferth said.
Authorities say the plumber was airlifted to the hospital after the crash.
BREAKING: Authorities in Rockledge arrest hit-and-run suspect they say ran over a plumbing company employee, pinned man in-between the two vehicles and then ran away from Jamestown Drive. Police have not identified suspect, say victim’s injuries are serious @news6wkmg pic.twitter.com/URy0PO0GzT
— James Sparvero (@News6James) March 28, 2019
Jamestown Drive resident Jerry Donofrio said he hired the plumber, who was hit while grabbing something out of his work van.
"All I heard was just a car smash into another one, pretty much a big bang, and then somebody screaming," Donofrio said.
The resident said the plumber's head was caught between the two vehicles when Wells ran away.
"I never thought that somebody would actually hit somebody, leave them for dead," Donofrio said. "That was a brand-new low."
Another plumber who came to finish the job said his co-worker is expected to survive.
"It's just a really horrible thing to do," Seyferth said. "How awful to leave that poor guy sitting there."
Rockledge police said Wells was arrested less than two hours later after a search of the area. The Brevard County helicopter and police dogs assisted with searching nearby wooded areas, reports Florida Today.
According to court documents, Wells is charged with leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury, not having a driver's license or operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver's license and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage.
During his first court appearance Friday, a judge granted Wells a $6,000 bond.
Wells was most recently arrested on a domestic violence charge in December in Cape Canaveral.
He was sentenced to a month in a jail.