OCALA, Fla. – An 18-year-old Major League Baseball prospect is facing felony charges in connection with a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 75 that killed a father of four, according to investigators.
The Florida Highway Patrol affidavit states Jonathan Matos Morales admitted he was running late for practice and panicked after the crash, telling investigators he was too afraid to call 911.
The backstory:
Authorities said the crash happened just before 6:30 a.m. Monday on I-75 southbound near mile marker 220, when witnesses reported a black Ford Mustang weaving through traffic at high speeds before striking a Chevrolet Trailblazer.Â
The impact sent the Trailblazer into a semi-truck, causing it to overturn and slide across the highway. The driver of the semi, Stavan Albert Facey, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the case led them to the Atlanta Braves spring training facility in Venice after a damaged Mustang was reported in a player parking area. Morales was taken into custody there.
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According to the affidavit, Morales told troopers he was shaking and panicking after the crash but said he had not been drinking alcohol or using drugs.
The victim’s mother said she could not understand why the crash happened, describing her son as kindhearted and dependable.
Morales faces charges including leaving the scene of a crash involving death and vehicular manslaughter. He was granted a $200,000 bond, according to court records.
Dig deeper:
Morales told FHP troopers he was scared and frustrated when he was placed under arrest for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of the I-75 crash that killed the driver of a semi-tractor-trailer and the father of four.
Matos Morales told investigators that he “didn’t want to hit the car in front of him or get hit by the car behind him so he steered to the right and that’s when he observed the semi-truck come around, and he got scared.”
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According to the document, Matos Morales claimed he was driving from his girlfriend’s house in the Wesley Chapel area back to practice with the Braves when the crash occurred around 6:30 a.m. Â
‘Scared to have that conversation with a cop’
Matos Morales said he was ‘panicking, shaking and called his girlfriend first to tell her that someone had tapped him on the side of his car when he was just trying to brake for someone that was in front of him.’
He then stated his girlfriend called him after practice and that he knew the video of him causing the crash was all over social media, but he did not contact law enforcement.
Matos Morales stated his mother told him the driver of the semi had passed away in the crash that he was involved in.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the Braves turned Matos Morales in after the team saw the damaged mustang in the compound.
Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol
Court records show Matos Morales has bonded out of jail.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Florida Highway Patrol and reporting by FOX 13 Tampa Bay.