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Woman accused of hitting 3-year-old with soda can at Florida gas station: PCSO

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Published  May 2, 2025 9:58am EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • Polk County deputies say Crystal Hess, 35, threw an unopened Pepsi can into another person's car outside a gas station on Feb. 8.
    • The can hit a 3-year-old child, who was not seriously injured.
    • Hess was later arrested in an unrelated case in South Carolina, according to deputies, and has since been brought back to Polk County.

POLK CITY, Fla. - A woman is facing charges months after Polk County deputies say she threw a soda can into a car at a gas station, hitting a 3-year-old child.

The backstory:

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, a woman later identified as Crystal Hess, 35, got angry with another customer at a store in Polk City on Feb. 8.

Deputies say Hess threw an unopened Pepsi can into the victim's vehicle, hitting the 3-year-old in the head. The child was not seriously injured.

Hess then punched and kicked the victim's vehicle, according to PCSO, before taking off in a blue Hyundai Elantra.

Mugshot of Crystal Hess. Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Mugshot of Crystal Hess. Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators say Hess was arrested in South Carolina on Feb. 18 after a hit-and-run crash, and Polk County deputies soon learned of the arrest.

PCSO says Hess was brought back to Polk County and booked into jail on April 26.

What's next:

Hess faces charges of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle and criminal mischief.

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The Source: This story was written with information from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

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