RSSApopka Hit and Run Dirt Bike Accident
Usually one person commits a crime against another person. There is a perpetrator and there is a victim. However, every once in a while, random circumstances happen and two criminals connect.
That’s what happened on February 4 in Apopka, Florida. Law enforcement officers say 18-year-old Hilario Aguilar Perez was driving a Toyota 4-Runner on Old Dixie Highway and Bradshaw Road. He hit a dirt bike ridden by 44-year-old Paul Dinkins and fled the scene after the accident.
Law enforcement officials say the accident was Dinkins’ fault, but Perez said he left the scene because he was scared. Perez was operating the vehicle without a license. If he had stayed at the scene, he would have been charged with a misdemeanor. Instead, he now faces a felony hit and run charge. In Florida drivers are required to stop and render aid when a person suffers bodily injury in an accident. The statute states a person “must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash, or as close thereto as possible, and must remain at the scene of the crash until he or she has fulfilled the requirements…Any person who willfully violates this paragraph commits a felony of the third degree.”
After an investigation, law enforcement officials were able to locate Perez and determine that he was driving the Toyota at the time of the accident. Perez was arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail. He was being held on a $6,000 bond.
It turns out that Dinkins was not a world-class citizen either – the dirt bike had been stolen. He was charged with grand theft, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with the serial number altered. It was unclear of Dinkins’ condition after the accident or whether he was booked into the county jail on the charges. But he probably wishes that he didn’t steal the dirt bike and collide with a Toyota 4 Runner.
If you’ve been injured in a Florida auto accident, contact the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham, P.A. immediately at 877-FL-INJURY (877-354-6587) for a free initial consultation.
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.
Mr. Cunningham is an excellent and knowledgeable attorney.