OCOEE, Fla. – Four people were hospitalized and a man was arrested after a hit-and-run crash near Ocoee Wednesday morning that led to an hourslong road closure, according to officials.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers and local fire crews responded around 7 a.m. to Ocoee Apopka Road at Demastus Lane, where two people with traumatic injuries were located lying in the grass, the Ocoee Fire Department said in a statement. Both victims had been struck by a moving vehicle and were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center as a roadblock was established on Ocoee Apopka Road, the statement reads.
Recommended Videos
Two others were hospitalized after Orange County dispatch advised another potential patient had been located in the Crown Point Woods subdivision, just north of the scene. They and another person were taken to Health Central Hospital by Orange County Fire Rescue.
According to a preliminary crash report, the crash involved a Honda CR-V that was traveling north on Ocoee Apopka Road and a Ford F-150 that was parked on the southbound right shoulder, both north of Demastus Lane. The driver of the Honda — identified as Eugenio Cuevas, 24, of Apopka — lost control for an unknown reason and traveled across the southbound lanes, entering the shoulder, troopers said.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]
The Honda struck the pickup and two people standing outside of it — one of them so far identified as the Ford’s driver — before continuing in a northwesterly direction and hitting a pole. Cuevas and a passenger in the Honda ran away from the scene, troopers said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed the patients hospitalized from Crown Point Woods were Cuevas and his passenger, adding both were apprehended there.
The driver of the pickup and the other person who stood outside it were hospitalized with critical injuries, stable at last check, the report states.
Cuevas suffered minor injuries in the crash, as did his passenger, troopers said. He faces charges of driving with a suspended or revoked license and leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injuries, booking records show. Cuevas was also given a citation for failure to maintain a single lane, troopers said.
Anyone with further knowledge of the crash was urged to contact FHP at *347, or Crimeline at 800-423-8477 to remain anonymous.
A roadblock was no longer seen in the area as of 12 p.m.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: