Teen arrested for attempted murder after hit-and-run crash critically injures man: Police
BRADENTON, Fla. - Police in Bradenton say an argument led to a hit-and-run crash that sent a man to the hospital in critical condition and landed a teen in jail.
"It’s always usually peaceful and quiet we heard something going on at first before anything actually happened and next thing you know I just heard screeching of a vehicle," said Austin Nicholson, the owner of Seaside Island Adventures.
Nicholson was at his business stand on the Palma Sola Causeway when the noise caught his attention. He walked down to see what happened, and he saw a man lying in a pool of blood.
"From what I saw it was brutal," he said.
Witnesses rushed to help the man.
"They said he ended up flipping four times in the air after impact with the vehicle," said Nicholson.
According to the Bradenton Police Department, a 17-year-old got into a verbal altercation with a 35-year-old man in the 8400 block of Manatee Avenue shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Police say the teen drove away, turned around and intentionally hit the victim before driving away again. According to police, the teen then left the vehicle and ran away, but he was located Tuesday night and arrested.
"This was an intentional act," said Meredith Frameli with BPD.
Investigators say the victim suffered numerous injuries in the crash and is in stable, but critical condition.
"We are trying to piece together, exactly how these two knew one another, if they knew one another, what kind of argument they may have had that ended up culminating in this result," said Frameli.
The teen has been charged with attempted murder, hit-and-run with serious bodily injury, reckless driving with serious bodily injury and no valid driver’s license with serious bodily injury.
The incident is under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Bradenton Police Department at 941-932-9300. Tipsters who want to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000, can call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-634-8477 or submit a tip at manateecrimestoppers.com.