Arrest warrant issued for Guatemalan man after Lakeland hit-and-run
LAKELAND, Fla. - An arrest warrant has been issued for a Guatemalan man after a hit-and-run that hospitalized a 28-year-old Lakeland man on October 9, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
The backstory:
Erick De Leon, 21, was in the country illegally when the tan Nissan Altima he was driving struck the victim, who was on an E-bike, according to PCSO.
Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Witnesses to the crash told authorities that the victim was on Campbell Road West when he was struck from behind and run over by the Nissan.
That's when people nearby said they saw a hispanic man in his 20s get out of the car to look at the victim before putting the car in reverse and running him over again.
The witnesses provided a vehicle tag for the Nissan, which led investigators to a house on Old Tampa Highway.
Inside were three Guatemalan men who were in the country illegally. ICE was contacted and they were arrested.
The suspect's car was later located at a nearby house and the homeowner told deputies that a man he knows as "Erick" asked if he could park overnight but never returned in the morning.
Detectives say that car parts left behind at the scene matched the ones from the Nissan.
What they're saying:
Sheriff Grady Judd says that this undocumented immigrant will be held accountable.
"If this suspect had not been in the country illegally, the victim would not currently be in the hospital with multiple critical facial and brain injuries," Judd said. "We will seek justice for this victim and his family, and work with the proper authorities to bring Erick De Leon back here to face his felony charges."
De Leon, who has not been arrested yet, will be charged with leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury and no valid driver's license with serious bodily injury.
CLICK HERE:>>> Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.