LAKE WALES, Fla. — A search is ongoing for a person who hit and killed a good Samaritan who stopped to check on several people involved in a serious crash Monday morning.
Two of the people involved in the initial crash were 15 and 12 years old, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. It happened just after 6 a.m. east pf Lake Wales at the intersection of State Road 60 and County Road 630.
Deputies say the 15-year-old male was driving a Chevrolet Traverse and attempted to turn left onto County Road 630 when it crossed into the path of an eastbound Dodge truck driven by a 50-year-old man from Indian Lake Estates.
Upon seeing the crash, a 34-year-old man from Melbourne, Florida, stopped his car to help those who were hurt.
However, a white 2012 Honda Odyssey van heading east on State Road 60 crashed into the Dodge, causing it to spin around and hit the good Samaritan. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, the sheriff's office said.
The van's driver — and others who may have been inside — ran off, the agency continued.
Deputies, a K-9 unit and air support all have been scouring the area to find those responsible but have, so far, come up short. The sheriff's office says that a salvage title was obtained for the van in Arizona in 2022 and was serviced twice this year — once in Arizona and also in New Mexico.
"We saw two completely different kinds of people on this crash—a brave, concerned man immediately trying to render aid to injured strangers, and a selfish coward who ran away," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "We’re going to do everything we can to find the person responsible, but we could use any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
"We need to know who that white 2012 Honda Odyssey belongs to, or who drove it."
The 15-year-old and 12-year-old were airlifted to the hospital; the older teen had minor injuries, while the younger girl was critically hurt with an injury to her head. The 50-year-old man was treated at the hospital and released.
Anyone with information about the crash can call the sheriff's office at 863-668-3100. Tips can be submitted anonymously to Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS — a $5,000 reward is offered.