Broward deputies arrested a driver accused of hitting a scooter rider in Lighthouse Point and fleeing; the victim died at Broward Health North.
Miami Herald File
Broward deputies charged a driver who they say fatally hit a man on a scooter in Lighthouse Point and then sped away late Sunday. He was arrested Thursday.
Gustavo Mendez, 39, of Boca Raton, is facing a charge of failure to remain on scene in an accident involving death, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
READ MORE: Broward deputies find hit-and-run driver who killed a man: BSO
Around 9:25 p.m Sunday, the unidentified stand-up-scooter rider was crossing through the intersection of Northeast 49th Street and North Federal Highway when Mendez drove into him in his gray Toyota Corolla, deputies said.
After the crash, Mendez sped away, police say. Lighthouse Point Fire Rescue took the scooter rider to Broward Health North Medical Center. He later died.
Lighthouse Point police asked BSO’s Traffic Homicide Unit to take over the case.
Deputies said Wednesday they had identified Mendez as the driver, and found him and the vehicle in Boca Raton.
The sheriff’s office filed an arrest warrant for Mendez. The Lighthouse Point Police Department executed the warrant and arrested Mendez.
As of Friday, he was still in the Broward County Main Jail.
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Miami Herald
Miami Herald Cops and Breaking News Reporter Devoun Cetoute covers a plethora of Florida topics, from breaking news to crime patterns. He was on the breaking news team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022. He’s a graduate of the University of Florida, born and raised in Miami-Dade. Theme parks, movies and cars are on his mind in and out of the office.