A Florida teenager has been arrested after deputies say he led them on a pursuit reaching 120 to 130 mph, nine months after the Mustang he was driving struck a transit van in a crash that killed two passengers.
Denis Josue Maldonado-Reyes, 19, is accused of driving on a suspended license in the late-August incident.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy saw him run a four-way stop on Kelly Park Road. He passed another vehicle across a double yellow line and turned off his headlights before the pursuit.
He eventually stopped, and deputies arrested him at gunpoint. Maldonado-Reyes has pleaded not guilty to reckless-driving charges in the new case, WFTV reported. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Left Turn
The November 2025 crash happened at Rock Springs Road and Alexandria Place Drive near Apopka. An ACCESS LYNX van was making a left turn when Maldonado-Reyes’s Ford Mustang hit its side, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Van passengers Jerry Earl, 81, and Aida Maldonado, 94, died. Maldonado-Reyes and his 17-year-old passenger were injured.
Troopers estimated the Mustang’s speed at 90 mph in a 45 mph zone. In a January 12 interview with WFTV, Maldonado-Reyes disputed that estimate and said he was driving at the speed limit when the van turned into his path.
He said he had tried to swerve out of the way, had been knocked unconscious, and did not fully remember the night. Asked what he wanted to tell the victims’ families, he told the station he was sorry.
Still Waiting
A Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson told WFTV on September 3 that the agency was waiting for evidence results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement before beginning work with the State Attorney’s Office on the fatal crash.
Aida Maldonado’s granddaughter, Edna McGrew, asked FOX 35: “Can he have his vehicle taken from him? I don’t know what else it takes.”
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