FHP: Semi-truck driver arrested in I-75 hit-and-run crash that killed 6-month-old girl
FDOT screenshot shows scene of hit-and-run crash that killed 6-month-old girl along I-75 in Pasco County.
SAN ANTONIO, Fla. - A Tampa man is facing charges after colliding with a vehicle filled with passengers from Bradenton, killing an infant inside, and leaving the scene, troopers said.
The crash occurred before 12:30 a.m. Thursday along the southbound lanes of Interstate 75, north of State Road 52 in Pasco County. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the sedan – carrying three adults and three children – got a low or flat tire.
Two adult passengers got out of the car to flag traffic over and away as the vehicle continued driving south on the road at a low speed, troopers said. The rest of the occupants, the driver and children, were not wearing a seatbelt or using a child restraint.
Meanwhile, the driver of a tractor-trailer, identified as 31-year-old Aramis Peralta Ramirez, was heading south in the outside lane. Investigators said he overtook and collided with the sedan.
After the crash, troopers said Ramirez didn't stop to help, and instead continued driving south.
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According to FHP, a 6-month-old girl inside the car was killed in the collision. An 8-month-old boy and 3-year-old boy also suffered minor injuries. The three adults – two men and a woman – were uninjured.
Meanwhile, they said Ramirez exited the highway at SR-52, stopped along the exit ramp, and checked the damage to his truck. He then headed westbound on SR-52 and turned south on Old Pasco Road, where the semi-truck became disabled.
That's where Pasco County deputies located the tractor-trailer. Ramirez was then arrested for leaving the scene of a traffic crash involving a death.