A 20-year-old motorcyclist from Eustis is trying to put his life back together after a hit-and-run last Monday left him with serious injuries and a long rehab road ahead. Jeremiah Wormus was riding his motorcycle to work when, according to his family, a pickup truck slammed into him and then kept going. Now he is staring down weeks or even months of recovery while his relatives work to understand how it all unfolded.
Driver arrested after allegedly fleeing scene
Police say the crash happened just before 9 a.m. at the intersection of County Road 19A and State Road 19. Witnesses told investigators a pickup truck cut off Wormus’s motorcycle, then continued north toward Umatilla without stopping. First responders found the 20-year-old on the roadside and rushed him to a trauma center, where doctors diagnosed a severed forearm muscle, fractures to his right tibia and fibula, and several broken knuckles.
Officers later arrested 65-year-old Dwayne Terrell on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash with bodily injury and cited him for careless driving. He was released on a $5,000 bond, according to FOX 35 Orlando.
Victim and family demand answers
With his injured arm in a sling, Wormus spoke about the crash and its aftermath, asking the question that has been haunting his family. He told FOX 35 Orlando's reporter, “What kind of person just hits someone and leaves?”
His mother said the hardest part is coming to terms with the fact that the driver did not stop after the impact. The family is urging anyone who might have dashcam footage, surveillance video, or other information to contact authorities and help fill in the gaps in the investigation.
What Florida law says about hit-and-runs
Under Florida law, drivers involved in crashes that cause injury are required to stop, provide information, and render aid. Leaving instead of stopping can be prosecuted as a felony. Depending on how serious the injuries are, a driver who flees can face a third-degree felony or a second-degree felony if there is serious bodily injury. A conviction can bring criminal penalties, license revocation, and restitution requirements, according to the Florida Statutes.
Local pattern and next steps
Officials say Wormus’s case is part of a troubling pattern of hit-and-run crashes in the Eustis area this year. In a separate incident in February, a bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run, prompting a search for the driver who took off, as reported by WESH.
Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the June crash or who may have captured it on video to contact the Eustis Police Department. Detectives are working to confirm the full timeline of the collision and identify any additional witnesses who can help explain what happened in the moments before and after Wormus was left on the side of the road.
