Brevard County Hit-and-Run Kills Out-of-State Bicyclist

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on January 6, 2022

Early incident reports from local law enforcement agencies operating within Brevard County indicate that a 32-year-old man from Melbourne has been apprehended and charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death for his alleged involvement in a deadly hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of a bicyclist on State Road A1A this past Tuesday morning.

According to the responding officers with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the Melbourne Police Department, it was approximately 9:50 a.m. on January 4, 2022, when 32-year-old Kevin Percell was driving a Dodge Dakota in the northbound direction of State Road A1A en route to a pool cleaning job that he had acquired. A statement from the alleged suspect states that as Percell approached the intersection of State Road A1A and Casseekee Trail, he glanced down at his cell phone that was relaying GPS directions to the location of his job site. He goes on to say that while he was looking at his phone for “50 seconds”, he received a text message that distracted him from driving his truck, and once he put his eyes back on the road, his vehicle was traveling in the southbound lane against the correct flow of traffic. It was at this time that the 32-year-old Melbourne resident crashed into a 57-year-old bicyclist from Solon, Ohio.

Almost immediately after the fatal bicycle accident occurred, Percell told troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol that he fled the scene of the crash in the northbound lane of State Road A1A because he was “panicked” and unclear of what to do next. He continued driving for about three miles until he eventually parked his damaged Dodge Dakota at the Juan Ponce De Leon Beach Park where he was ultimately arrested by members of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the Melbourne Police Department. Investigators have indicated that Percell seems to be sorry for his negligent actions. “The driver seems to be remorseful. He just admits he made a mistake and he got really scared,” said Lt. Channing Taylor in a press release.

The 57-year-old bicyclist from Ohio was transported in serious condition to Holmes Regional Medical Center where he died less than an hour after the accident took place.

Percell is currently at the Brevard County Jail with a $15,000 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.