Lake County Hit-and-Run Results in Victim Dying

Police throughout Lake County are actively searching for the driver of a pickup truck believed to be responsible for a hit-and-run death in Leesburg early on Saturday morning.  According to the preliminary report from the Leesburg Police Department, the incident took place around 1:00 in the morning in the parking lot of a business called Via Entertainment located at 10401 U.S. Highway 441.

The call into the police came from a witness to the incident.  In the call, the witness told the dispatcher that a truck had just struck several pedestrians in the parking lot.  Members of the Leesburg Police Department rushed to the scene, but by the time they arrived the driver of the SUV, believed to be a 2018 silver pickup truck manufactured by Cevrolet, had already fled from the scene. Behind them, the driver of the truck left a scene of destruction.

A 27-year-old Ocala resident and a 26-year-old Citra resident were both struck by the Chevrolet as it sped through the parking area.  After hitting the pedestrians, the driver of the pickup truck only made it a little further through the parking lot before they collided with a parked white Chevrolet SUV.  The individual in the pickup truck then, either not knowing or not caring about what they had just done, sped away from the area.

Medical personnel arrived on the scene with the Leesburg Police Department and began to administer first aid to the two injured men.  The 26-year-old, by far the less seriously injured, refused any medical treatment from the paramedics.  The reasons for this refusal were not given.  The 27-year-old, on the other hand, was immediately diagnosed as being in critical condition.  The paramedics called in an emergency helicopter and the young man was airlifted from the scene of the accident to Orlando Regional Medical Center.  Doctors and nurses there worked on the man throughout the morning, but there was little they could do for the fatal wounds he had suffered when the pickup struck him, and he was declared dead by Saturday afternoon.

The Leesburg Police Department strongly urges anyone who may know anything about this incident to come forward and assist in capturing the person responsible for running another individual down and then leaving them for dead.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.