FHP seeks identity of driver involved in hit-and-run crash

The Florida Highway Patrol is seeking the public’s help in finding a driver who was allegedly racing another vehicle at the time of a crash on State Road 200 Saturday morning that involved serious injuries. That driver left the scene of the crash.

According to the FHP press release, an unidentified male driver was headed west on SR 200 in a silver Ford Mustang with tinted windows, thought to be a 2020 to 2023 model, while a 2016 Chevrolet Corvette driven by a 38-year-old Ocala man was headed west on the same road.

The press release states that the Mustang and Corvette drivers were “operating their vehicle at a high rate of speed, making multiple lane changes in a reckless manner” when, around Southwest 80th Street, the Corvette struck a 2016 Toyota Prius driven by a 78-year-old Ocala woman with an 82-year-old Ocala man in the vehicle. The Corvette left the roadway and struck a light pole and tree and the driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and suffered serious injuries. The occupants of the Toyota were wearing seat belts and were not injured. The crash occurred at 8:44 a.m.

The press release states that the driver of the Mustang “parked /concealed his car behind a local business” before he checked on the other drivers and then fled the scene.

The driver being sought is described as a “heavy-set white male with arm tattoos. He appeared to be bald under his ball cap and has a beard. At the time of the crash, he was wearing a pink T-shirt and gray Under Armour shorts.”

Anyone with information about the driver of the Mustang is asked to call the FHP Communications Center at 1-800-387-1290 or Crime Stoppers at (352) 368-STOP (7867).