Motion filed to dismiss charge in crash that killed father walking girl to bus stop

Man died protecting daughter

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The attorney for a man accused of fatally striking a father who was walking his daughter to her bus stop has filed a motion to have the charge against his client dismissed, records show.

On Sept. 21, 2018 around 7:30 a.m., Todd Kimberlin was walking with his then 7-year-old daughter on 180th Avenue Road in Marion County when he was fatally struck by a white cargo van, records show.

Kimberlin’s fiancee, Monique Snell, said Kimberlin shoved the girl out of the way so she wouldn’t get hurt.

“Everybody sped down that road, everybody,” Snell said before Kimberlin’s funeral. “We always said no matter who it was, we would hold their hand and if we felt something would happen, we would shove her out of the way.”

Dylan Roberts called 911 after the crash and said that a vehicle coming from the opposite direction shifted into his lane, so he veered to avoid it and ended up hitting Kimberlin, records show.

Roberts was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended license with a crash causing death or serious bodily injury.

According to the motion to dismiss, a trooper who responded to the crash scene said it’s possible that the condition of Roberts’ tire and the load that was on top of the van contributed to the crash.

“And with the interviews that I took with the person that’s literally holding the subject’s hand and where -- their positioning, and where everybody was found at rest, and the evidence that I found, yes, I found that basically that is contributing, as well as the load that he had on top was also contributing,” the trooper said, according to the document.

Roberts is scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning to discuss the motion to dismiss. Records show the state attorney’s office has asked the judge to strike that motion.


Recommended Videos