POLK COUNTY, Fla. – An 18-year-old Bartow High School student was struck and killed while walking to school by a man who was later found at a mall, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened Wednesday morning.
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According to troopers, Edgardo Joel Rosado Perez, 41, had just dropped off his 18-year-old daughter at school in a 2018 Hyundai sedan when he got in a minor wreck involving a Chevy SUV and sped off.
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He drove north on Jackson Street near Pearl Street, hit an 18-year-old student who was walking to school and again drove off, FHP said.
Troopers said Perez’s vehicle was found inside his home’s garage and learned he left in a blue 2017 Ford Fiesta.
Hillsborough County deputies found the Ford Fiesta at the Brandon Mall, where they found Perez inside the mall, troopers said.
Perez was arrested for leaving the scene of a fatal crash and booked into the Hillsborough County jail.
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