ORLANDO, Fla. – A judge on Friday denied bond for a man accused of killing a 5-year-old in a hit-and-run crash in Orlando in 2023.
Yosefi Arabu, 35, was arrested Monday and faces multiple charges stemming from the November 2023 wreck.
The judge ruled in favor of the state, which filed a pre-trial detention motion to keep Arabu behind bars until his trial. In the motion, the state cited his history of not following probation from past cases and the circumstances of this case as reasons to deny him bond.
“Based on the sworn documents, we believe he committed this offense,” Assistant State Attorney Brian Hagner said.
Just before the hearing began, Arabu was seen mouthing words and making gestures to the family of 5-year-old Aiyanna McCoy in the courtroom, including, “I’m sorry, I’m not the driver.”
“Mr. Arabu, you are not to communicate with anyone in the courtroom other than your attorney,” Judge Cherish Adams told Arabu.
In 2023, a silver Mercedes struck McCoy and her family while they were in the Uber, a Nissan Pathfinder, on North Orange Blossom Trail near Ace Road in Orange County.
According to the Orlando Police Department, the Mercedes became inoperable after the crash, and the driver ran away before being picked up by another vehicle.
Despite running off, Orlando police were able to arrest Arabu after obtaining DNA and other evidence linking him to the crime.
Police said on the night of the crash, witnesses told them that two people got out of the car after the wreck, and the driver took the plate off the car. Investigators were able to obtain a search warrant for the address registered to the car and found the license plate between the mattress and box spring.
Police also took Arabu’s phone during the search and found text messages about the license plate and bloody tissues.
The police report also details an interview between investigators and a woman who was in the car with Arabu when the crash happened. She told investigators that he was behind the wheel of her car and that she was in the passenger seat during the crash.
According to the report, she told police she saw the odometer read 130 mph and said, despite telling him to slow down and him having no way to avoid the crash, he continued to drive more than double the speed limit.
The report said the Florida Highway Patrol found the car was going 130 mph just five seconds before the crash. FHP said it was going 101 mph when the crash happened.
News 6 spoke to Billy McCoy, Aiyanna’s father, in 2024 while police were still investigating. He said this journey to find answers has been an uphill battle, but said they’re glad to see a suspect in custody.
“It rained for seven days after that happened,” McCoy said. “So not only was I sad, the angels in heaven (were) sad, you know, a lot of people were sad. You know, it was a sad time. So, yeah, you know, I’m glad that we are finally getting the little justice that we deserve.”
Investigators also collected DNA evidence and sent five items to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing, including:
- A front stain from the deployed airbag in the front passenger seat of the Mercedes C300
- A back stain from the deployed airbag in the front passenger seat of the Mercedes C300
- Deployed the airbag from the steering wheel column of the Mercedes C300
- The license plate
- Swabs from the exterior trunk of the Mercedes C300
According to the report, the DNA profile from those items matched Arabu.
News 6 has reached out to Orlando police to see if anyone else in this case could be facing charges, and OPD said it does not have additional information to release at this time.
Arabu faces charges of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a crash with death, three counts of driving without a valid license resulting in death or serious injury, tampering with physical evidence, two counts of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, and two counts of reckless driving resulting in damage to person or property.
He is due back in court for an arraignment on Thursday.