DELTONA, Fla. – A 22-year-old Deltona man took off from the scene of a crash and then punched an investigating Volusia County sheriff's deputy in the face as the deputy was in the process of making the arrest, officials said Monday night.
Rhett Andrew Dickerson was arrested on a charge of battery on a law enforcement officer.
Just before 7 p.m., a man said his vehicle was hit by a truck at the intersection of East Normandy and Saxon boulevards in Deltona, according to a news release from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
No one was hurt, but the driver of the truck didn't bother to stop, so the victim said he followed that truck.
The victim yelled to the truck driver to stop, but he wouldn't -- so the victim took a photo of the truck's license plate, deputies said. Somehow, the investigation then led to a home in the 1000 block of Parnell Court, where a sheriff's deputy was investigating the hit-and-run crash.
The deputy was in the process of arresting Dickerson in connection with leaving the scene of the wreck when Dickerson slipped out of his shirt and the deputy's grasp, authorities said.
That's when Dickerson punched the deputy in the face and hurt his left eye -- then took off running just before 7:40 p.m.
A Sheriff's Office helicopter, along with K-9 units, searched for Dickerson and eventually found him hiding inside the house at 1079 Parnell Court.
Dickerson was coaxed into surrendering just before 9 p.m.
The officer was cut under his left eye, which is now swollen, but officials said he remains in good spirits. At last check, he was being treated at Saxon Medical Center.
Dickerson was in the process of being booked at the Volusia County Branch Jail.