ORLANDO, Fla. — Thanks to the help of a good Samaritan, troopers say they were able to track down a box truck driver that struck and killed a woman in Orlando Tuesday.
Local media reports 30-year-old Miguel Valero Gonzalez, of Brandon, was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash after striking a woman on Curry Ford Road near Sanctuary Point Boulevard before taking off.
WOFL reports the woman had exited her disabled SUV on Curry Ford Road when she and the vehicle were hit by Gonzalez. Further investigation appears to show the woman had stopped and put her hazard lights on to help a turtle in the roadway.
“The reason they were stopped in the roadway as they were traveling westbound on Curry Ford, they noticed a turtle that was in the roadway,” Lt. Kim Montes with Florida Highway Patrol told WESH.
“A lot of people are animal lovers. They want to help, that's their first instinct, but we want people to know it's dangerous to put yourself at risk, to put others in your car at risk, to stop for an animal in the roadway,” Montes added.
FHP thanked a good Samaritan for helping troopers locate the box truck after calling 911 and giving authorities the details on the truck and where it was headed. They say it allowed the Orange County Sheriff's Office to locate Gonzalez and arrest him.
WKMG reports troopers said Gonzalez admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the day and to knowing he had a suspended license during questioning.
A second woman who was a passenger in the SUV is also reported to have sustained minor injuries in the crash.
