A 66-year-old man from Davie died early Saturday when a driver on Interstate 95 hit him while he waited for a tow truck on the shoulder of the highway, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
An arrest report identified the driver who hit the pedestrian as Walter Diego Velasquez Perez, 26, of West Palm Beach. He fled the scene of the crash and was arrested several hours later at his home, the report said.
The Davie man’s black Infinti SUV broke down on the outside shoulder of the north side of I-95 north of the Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard exit in West Palm Beach about 3 a.m. Velasquez Perez was driving in a 2008 Honda Civic in the outside lane and “for reasons still under investigation,” went northeast into the shoulder and crashed into the man, the arrest report said.
The Alpine Towing driver was on the way and witnessed Velasquez Perez crash into a tree in the grassy area off the highway, the report said. The car came to a stop with its front end against the tree.
The Davie man, whose identity was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The tow truck driver who remained at the crash scene told troopers that he saw the Honda driver crash into the tree and walked over to the car while it was still running and smoking, the report said.
The driver, later identified as Velasquez Perez, was trying to back up and leave the scene, the tow truck driver said, and “began begging” the tow truck driver to take him from the scene. The truck driver smelled alcohol, according to the report, and Velasquez Perez got out of the car and ran.
When troopers arrived at the scene, Velasquez Perez was gone. They saw tire marks in the grass, leading to the wrecked Honda, the report said. The front end of the car was damaged with a “distinct circular impact” and blood on the top right side of the windshield.
The steering wheel airbag had blood on it as did the license plate on the back of the car, which was “defaced as if someone was trying to remove it and had blood splatter all over it,” the report said.
Troopers went to Velasquez Perez’s home later that morning where he admitted that he was driving the Honda. He had a bruise on his neck from the seatbelt and cut hands from attempting to remove the license plate, the report said.
Velasquez Perez told troopers he thought he saw traffic stopped on the highway and swerved into the shoulder to avoid a crash, then crashed into the tree. He said he wasn’t aware of anyone else involved, according to the report. He said he “checked on a black SUV that had all of its doors open but didn’t see anybody.”
Velasquez Perez said he walked several miles to his home from the crash scene because his phone was dead and he could not call for help. He did not call for help when he got home, according to the report.
He told troopers he had three beers but was not impaired during the crash. The troopers noted that he still smelled of alcohol in the report, four-and-a-half hours after the crash. He did not have a driver’s license.
Velasquez Perez was arrested shortly after 8:30 a.m. Saturday, the report said. He faces charges of vehicular homicide, failing to remain at the scene of a deadly crash and driving without a license causing death.
He made his first appearance in Palm Beach County court Monday morning and will be placed on GPS monitoring after posting bond, court records show. He is not allowed to drive, contact the victim’s family or drink alcohol.
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