JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man has been arrested in connection to a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened on Interstate 95 in Jacksonville Oct. 13, Florida Highway Patrol announced Tuesday on X.
Troopers say Gerlin Adali Garcia Mendez caused the crash, which happened near J. Turner Butler Boulevard (JTB).
FHP's report on the crash states around 9:08 p.m. on the day, a white Honda Civic hit the back of a black Toyota Tacoma, causing the Toyota to roll over.
A 15-year-old who was the driver of the Toyota, was taken to Wolfson Children's Hospital and later died, while a 16-year-old passenger in the truck was not injured, according to the report.
"After the collision, he [Mendez] fled on foot from the scene," FHP's X post states. "Due to outstanding investigative techniques by our Traffic Homicide Unit, the... driver [of the Civic] now faces multiple felony and criminal charges. He was arrested in the Orlando area by our investigators."
The crash shut down all northbound lanes of I-95 at JTB for hours, as well as the left lane of I-95 South in the area while emergency crews were on the scene.
