Indian River County - Wednesday May 3, 2023: Authorities have located the SUV believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run crash that left a female pedestrian dead, and injured her male companion on Tuesday night in Indian River County.
A release from Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) spokeswoman Lt. Indiana Miranda states that "a search warrant has been drafted and possible driver information has been confirmed." It is not clear whether an arrest has been made. As of 3 pm Wednesday afternoon, no further information was released.
The crash happened around 9 pm in the 600 block of 17th Street east of U.S. 1, just outside the city limits of Vero Beach.
The pair were walking across the divided four-lane road when, what appeared to be, a maroon colored Ford Edge, traveling east on 17th Street, struck the couple down.
A driver in a nearby vehicle witnessed the crash and captured it on a dashboard camera. FHP reports that the camera footage shows the driver of the SUV getting out of his vehicle and approaching the victims, but then he turned around, got back in his car, and fled. The SUV was last seen turning left onto northbound 6th Avenue.
The driver is described as a white male, possibly between 50 and 60 years of age, balding, and wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans. The Ford Edge he was driving was, possibly, model years between 2015 and 2023. It had Florida plates and, possibly, a Mullinax Ford license plate frame.
The female victim was a 47 years old woman from Wilmington Delaware. She was rushed to HCA Florida Longwood Hospital where she later died from her injuries. The male victim is 52 years old from Vero Beach. His injuries were "non-incapacitating," according to the FHP release. Their names have not yet been released.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact FHP. Their investigation is ongoing.