ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg garbage truck driver is accused of hitting and killing a woman along his route Saturday morning and fleeing the scene without calling for help.
“A delivery truck driver that said, ‘Hey, be careful, there’s some people back there,’” said St. Pete Police Chief Anthony Holloway.
Police say 51-year-old Nathan Brown was headed into an alley off of 3rd St. North in downtown St. Pete to pick up a dumpster in the back of the alley.
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“When he backed up, he struck the victim, and when he went forward, he struck the victim again, and then he just went forward and went on with his route,” said Holloway.
According to police, Brown admitted to seeing the woman on his way out of the alley. Police caught up with Brown later in his route and arrested him on a felony charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving a death
“It was horrendous,” said John Burke, who knew the victim.
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Burke said he was sleeping next to the 49-year-old woman, identified as Candice Roberts, when it happened. He said it had been a while since they’d seen her, and that she told them she had recently come back from recovery.
“Candy, as we called her, was very kind,” said Burke. “She was very, very patient, very, very kind in every instance of her nature.”
Police believe that Roberts was experiencing homelessness and are still working to notify her family.
A local business owner told News Channel 8 off-camera that the area has become a popular spot for people to camp out overnight.
Brown has since bonded out of jail. SPPD says its investigation is still ongoing.