ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies have arrested a man who in 2022 was behind the wheel of a car that ran off the road after a street race in Orange County and struck two spectators, one of whom later died, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Samuel Enrique Lugo Rodriguez, 22, faces a charge of vehicular manslaughter in the death of the spectator. Troopers identified the spectator as a man who was 18 years old at the time of the crash, on April 20, 2022.
According to an FHP traffic homicide investigation report, Rodriguez and another driver had agreed to race each other on Courtland Street as a crowd of about 10 others stood by watching. The race — between Rodriguez’s Honda Civic and the other driver’s Honda Accord — ended with the Accord in the lead, yet when both cars made their way back toward the parking lot of XL Soccer World, troopers say the Civic attempted to overtake the Accord on the left at high speed as the Accord attempted to turn left into the facility’s parking lot.
The impact sent the Civic off the roadway, where it struck the two spectators before hitting a pole, the report states. The 18-year-old was taken to Orlando Health where he died on April 22, 2022, while the other spectator — a 21-year-old man — suffered serious injuries, troopers said.
Troopers interviewed both drivers, as well as witnesses, in the course of their investigation. A warrant that was since issued for Rodriguez’s arrest was carried out on Wednesday; he was taken into custody in Altamonte Springs with mutual aid from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and booked at the Orange County Jail, where records show he was granted a $100,000 bond.
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