Ex-minor leaguer claimed he was ‘scared & frustrated’ before fleeing deadly Manatee County I-75 crash: PCA
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Minor league player charged in deadly hit-and-run
A minor league baseball player has been arrested in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash on I-75 that killed a semi-truck driver who was a father of four. FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon reports.
BRADENTON, Fla. - A probable cause affidavit is revealing more details about what was going through the mind of a former minor league baseball player after he was allegedly involved in a deadly hit-and-run crash on I-75 in Manatee County on Monday morning.
What we know:
Jonathan Matos Morales told FHP troopers he was scared and frustrated when he was placed under arrest for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of the I-75 crash that killed the driver of a semi-tractor-trailer and the father of four.
Matos Morales told investigators that he "didn’t want to hit the car in front of him or get hit by the car behind him so he steered to the right and that’s when he observed the semi-truck come around, and he got scared."
According to the document, Matos Morales claimed he was driving from his girlfriend’s house in the Wesley Chapel area back to practice with the Braves when the crash occurred around 6:30 a.m.
Matos Morales told investigators he was running a few minutes late and there was no traffic at first, so he put his signal on to get into the left lane. Matos Morales stated he started to slow down and there was a car in front of him that took a left, almost like the car in front of him brake-checked the car in front of him.
Matos Morales said he didn't want to hit the car in front of him or get hit by the car behind him, so he steered to the right and that's when he observed the semi-truck come around and he got scared.
PREVIOUS: Semi-truck driver killed in hit-and-run crash on I-75 in Manatee County: FHP
He told investigators he thought about calling 911, but was "scared to have that conversation with a cop."
'Scared to have that conversation with a cop'
Dig deeper:
Matos Morales said he was 'panicking, shaking and called his girlfriend first to tell her that someone had tapped him on the side of his car when he was just trying to brake for someone that was in front of him.'
He then stated his girlfriend called him after practice and that he knew the video of him causing the crash was all over social media, but he did not contact law enforcement.
Matos Morales stated his mother told him the driver of the semi had passed away in the crash that he was involved in.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the Braves turned Matos Morales in after the team saw the damaged mustang in the compound.
Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol
Court records show Matos Morales has bonded out of jail.
Deadly hit-and-run crash
The backstory:
According to FHP, a dark-colored Ford Mustang was traveling southbound on I-75 in the left lane just south of State Road 64 when it entered the middle lane and collided with a Chevy Trailblazer driven by a 63-year-old man.
"This mustang was weaving in and out of traffic and caused a crash that sideswiped the SUV," explained Trooper Ken Watson.
The impact, according to troopers, sent the Trailblazer into the right lane and the path of a semi-tractor-trailer driven by a 34-year-old Stavan Albert Facey from New Smyrna.
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"Driving a vehicle like that, high profile, early in the morning and with a full load, obviously, they can't stop on a dime," Watson said.
Upon impact, investigators said the semi-truck was redirected across all southbound lanes of travel, overturned onto its right side and came to a stop partially in the grass median and across all three southbound lanes of I-75.
Troopers said Matos Morales stopped briefly after the crashes and then took off southbound on I-75.
The truck driver, Stavan Facey, died at the scene. According to Facey's family, he was a very hard worker and had four children.
The driver of the Chevy Trailblazer reportedly suffered minor injuries.
The Source: Information was gathered from previous reporting by FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon and a PCA for the arrest of Jonathan Matos Morales.