A 23-year-old Lauderdale Lakes man, Demetrius Etienne, has been arrested and faces charges following a fatal hit-and-run incident in Tamarac. The Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed Etienne's charges include leaving an accident causing death and tampering with evidence, after the Nov. 22 crash that led to the death of pedestrian Shane DeLinks, WSVN reported.
The incident, recorded by surveillance video, took place near the 5000 block of North State Road 7 where DeLinks was crossing the southbound lanes, he was sideswiped by Etienne's silver Toyota Camry, and struck with the front bumper as an unknown black sedan subsequently ran over DeLinks continued south the paramedics arrived and rushed the victim to a hospital where he died days later, NBC Miami detailed.
Following the fatal collision, Etienne was witnessed parking his vehicle at a nearby Shell gas station; he exited his car, approached the location where DeLinks had been struck, then returned to his vehicle and left the scene. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage to confirm these details. Etienne is currently being held on a $55,000 bond, with the investigation by authorities still in progress.
The Broward Sheriff's Office officials were able to track down the Camry and identify Etienne as the suspect leading to his arrest and detention detectives continue to work on the case seeking additional information about the black sedan involved the tragic sequence of events has raised further questions about pedestrian safety and hit-and-run instances in the area, according to WSVN.
