Halloween night in Charlotte County took a terrifying turn when a driver sped through a trick-or-treat route, hitting multiple people on Friday. The incident left families shaken but grateful that the outcome wasn’t worse.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported that 66-year-old Eugene Mandarino drove a Dodge Ram through Sandhill Boulevard, hitting several people before fleeing.
“As soon as I sat her in the car, we heard a big dunk,” said Megan Denton, one of the victims. “He went into me a little bit because of the pressure from the truck.”
Carmelo Rodriguez, who was also involved, was admitted to the hospital but fortunately did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
“I’m in pain I’m on pain meds right now because of the incident, but I’m just lucky that it wasn’t worse,” said Rodriguez. “All the what-ifs, there’s so many what-ifs.”
21-year-old Sawyer Benson, was struck while pushing his daughter’s stroller. His girlfriend, Isabelle Rivera, recounted his heroic actions.
“My boyfriend was able to get up and walk at least a few steps towards me before he collapsed on the ground,” said Rivera. “There was no way I would have ever expected something like that to happen, especially to us.”
Rivera expressed gratitude for Benson, who suffered severe whiplash but no broken bones or nerve damage.
“I could not be more grateful for the partner that I found,” said Rivera. “I could not be prouder of him, I really couldn’t.”
A 15-year-old girl was also struck. Her mother shared an update on social media saying her daughter underwent surgery and is recovering from several injuries.
Authorities later located Mandarino at his home. He was taken to the hospital, and charges are pending as the investigation continues.