Plant City Man Arrested in Connection to a Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash
According to reports from authorities with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a 46-year-old individual has been apprehended for his alleged connection to a deadly hit-and-run collision that claimed the life of a 21-year-old driver earlier this week.
Traffic homicide detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office stated that it was shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, when 46-year-old Plant City resident Edy Juarez Granados was driving his 2001 Nissan Frontier along the northern lanes of U.S. 17 near Bartow. As Granados approached the highway’s intersection with County Road 640, he lost control of his pickup truck and the vehicle spun out of control across the median and into the direct path of an oncoming 2006 Infiniti G35 that was being driven by 21-year-old Tyler Baysden. Neither driver was able to avoid a collision and the two vehicles violently crashed into each other. The force from the impact caused the Infiniti to be propelled across the roadway into the northbound lanes of the highway before finally coming to a stop after crashing into a dump truck and a 2021 Jeep Compass.
Footage retrieved from the dashcam of the commercial dump truck, as well as statements from witnesses at the crash site, indicated that almost immediately after the initial collision between the Frontier and the Infiniti, Granados fled the area of the accident in the northbound direction.
Officers with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and local emergency response teams arrived at the scene of the multi-vehicle accident to find that 21-year-old Tyler Baysden, the driver of the Infiniti, had suffered fatal injuries and had already passed away. His passenger was transported to a nearby hospital where they received treatment for a broken leg. The driver of the Jeep Compass and the dump truck were treated for minor injuries.
Within 24 hours of the auto accident, investigators with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office were able to locate Edy Juarez Granados, who was at his Plant City home at the time of his arrest. He was taken into custody and has since been charged with multiple felonies, including three counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, three counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, and driving without a valid license. Granados is currently at the Hillsborough County Jail with no bond.
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.