WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A man is behind bars after deputies say he was responsible for killing another man in a hit-and-run crash early Saturday morning in Winter Haven.
Wayne Berry, 38, was charged with DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
At around 12:25 a.m., authorities arrived at Cypress Gardens Boulevard at the north end of Old Helena Road after receiving a report of a crash, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
At the scene, deputies say they found a dead man who has been identified as 26-year-old Reuben Goss.
Authorities say Goss was driving a motorcycle southbound on Cyrbres Gardens Boulevard when he was hit by a pickup truck going the other direction while trying to do a turn onto Old Helena Road.
Goss was reportedly wearing a helmet, but the crash caused him to be thrown off his motorcycle.
After investigating the crash, the sheriff's office says they began looking for the pickup truck driver.
The truck was found behind a pub about 600 feet away from the crash, but no one was inside of it, deputies say. Still, authorities could confirm Berry was the truck's owner.
Investigators say the 38-year-old parked his truck and went inside the pub but left the building after employees did not serve him because they said he was "not right." Berry then walked over to a lounge on Cypress Gardens Road and left shortly after he got a friend to pick him up.
The sheriff's office says they arrested Berry at his home.
“I pray for the family of Mr. Goss; their loss is immeasurable," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "We can’t bring him back, but the Traffic Homicide detectives tracked down the man responsible, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that Mr. Goss’ family sees justice served.”
The investigation of the crash remains ongoing.