A suspect, identified as a Venezuelan national residing in the U.S. illegally, was apprehended following a hit-and-run incident in Davenport, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Thirty-four-year-old Jose Valero-Colina is facing charges for leaving the scene of a crash on January 30, and under Florida law, his charges have been heightened due to his immigration status.
The collision unfolded when a victim, stopped at a stop sign on Lake Wilson Road, was rear-ended. She reported to 911 that after confronting the driver of the silver Kia, he sped off. Investigators traced Valero-Colina back to his Orlando home, where deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, with the aid of Valero-Colina's spouse, located him as he returned in the vehicle involved. "Our roads are safer when everyone follows the law. Leaving the scene of a crash puts others at risk, and we will always hold offenders accountable," Sheriff Grady Judd stated, as told by Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Following his admission to the hit and run during a subsequent encounter with PCSO deputies, Valero-Colina was handed additional citations for failure to provide information at a crash scene and careless driving. Correspondence with ICE further corroborated his illegal presence in the country, prompting a detainer to be placed on him at the jail.
