A 17-year-old is facing adult felony murder charges after a violent Ocala crash last month left a married couple in their 70s dead, authorities say. Investigators allege the teen blew through a stop sign at Southwest 38th Street and Southwest 67th Avenue Road while fleeing an earlier crime and slammed into the couple's SUV.
Ocala police say the Ford Mustang involved in the collision had just sped away from an alleged robbery at a nearby sports complex moments before impact.
Police say suspect fled a robbery
Detectives identified the driver as 17-year-old Estiben Garcia Luis and allege he was behind the wheel of the Mustang, traveling at a high rate of speed when the crash occurred, according to FOX 35 Orlando. Investigators told the outlet that surveillance video from the Ocala Regional Sportsplex, combined with witness accounts, showed the Mustang leaving that scene immediately before the collision.
The couple in the Ford Explorer, both in their 70s, were rushed to a hospital but later died from their injuries, police said. What began as a reported robbery call quickly became a double-fatal crash investigation.
Crash and emergency response
First responders were dispatched around 12:22 p.m. on May 8 and arrived to find three heavily damaged vehicles in the intersection, WFTV reported. Firefighters used a winch and extrication tools to free people trapped in the wreckage.
Five individuals in total were transported to area hospitals for evaluation, with at least one patient treated as a trauma alert, according to the station. Ocala police say the crash investigation is still active.
How felony murder charges work in Florida
Under Florida law, a person can be charged with murder if a death occurs during the commission or attempted commission of certain felonies, including robbery, under the state's homicide statute. As outlined in Florida Statutes § 782.04, a killing that happens in the course of one of those crimes can be treated as murder even if the death was unintended.
Local prosecutors will ultimately decide whether to continue pursuing the case in adult court as it moves through the legal system, using the felony murder statute as their roadmap.
What happens next
Garcia Luis has been taken into custody and is facing felony murder charges, according to FOX 35 Orlando. Officials have not yet released court dates or said whether the State Attorney's Office will formally seek to try him as an adult at trial.
For now, detectives say they have built probable cause on the strength of video evidence and witness statements as they continue piecing together what led up to the deadly afternoon collision.
