Florida: Drunk driver leaves the scene of an accident with two people in serious condition

Drunk Hit & Run

Tallahassee, Florida – The accident happened on Saturday, 23rd of December at around 6 p.m. Florida Highway Patrol told that a person, driving under the influence, hit a car and two people got injured in this accident. The officials said the driver ran away from the scene just after the accident in Taylor County.

According to the FHP, 42-year-old Ernest Turner of Mayo, Florida, was drunk, driving south on US Highway 19 and 69-year-old Delmas Knight, of Grove Hill, Alabama, the victim, was driving another car north on US Highway 19/98 (SR55). Turner drove south in the northbound lane of US highway 19/98 (SR55) and hit Knight’s car. Both cars stopped at the point of collision.

Judith Gae Knight was with Delmas Knight in his car. She told that as she came out from the car, and noticed that Turner was trying to leave the scene, so she immediately took out her digital camera to take pictures of Turner. She also captured some pictures of Turner’s car. Turner ran away from the scene of the accident and drove north on State Road 51.

Upon arrival, Florida Highway Patrol placed an alert on Turner’s car. After a few minutes, FHP officials were informed that the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office had Turner. According to a report by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, Turner’s car stopped on State road 51 south of Mayo Florida. They also told that a trooper helped the Lafayette County Deputies in arresting Turner.FHP said that they emailed the pictures of Turner and his car to the trooper after downloading it from Knight’s camera. The pictures helped a lot and the trooper identified the drunk driver as Turner.

FHP returned Turner back to the place of the accident and then FHP was able to identify him from the pictures. He was arrested as he was drunk and left the place of the accident without helping the injured people. He is charged for 2 counts of DUI with serious bodily injury, 1 count of DUI and property damage, driving with a suspended license, driving with no motor vehicle registration, failed to have motor vehicle liability insurance and violation of right of way.

Two victims, Delmas Knight and Judith Knight were taken to Doctors Memorial Hospital in Perry for treatment. They both were in critical condition.

Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, Taylor County Fire Department, Taylor County EMS and Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office helped Florida Highway Patrol in arresting Turner.