ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The father of a 17-year-old arrested in a deadly hit-and-run crash was also charged with the crime of allowing an unlicensed person to drive his car.
Ricky Bishop owned the black Chevy Camaro his son was accused of driving during the crash, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department. The charge is a misdemeanor and the father has received a notice to appear before a judge.
The crash happened just after 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26. The 17-year-old driver was traveling north on Dr. MLK Street South when an 85-year-old man driving a Dodge Charger traveling west from the stop sign at 30th Avenue South turned into the intersection, authorities said. The teen in the Camaro collided with the driver's side of the Dodge Charger.
Following impact, the police department said the teenager fled the scene. He was apprehended not long thereafter and police learned that he had no valid driver's license.
The 17-year-old boy was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death and operating a motor vehicle without a license involving death, the St. Petersburg Police Department reports.
The elderly man from the other car involved was transported to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg where he later died from his injuries.
The police department said this is the second time in the last month that a parent has been charged with allowing an unlicensed driver to use a car that was involved in a deadly collision.
