PALM SPRINGS, Fla. — A little over five months after a pedestrian aged 54 lost his life in a hit-and-run incident, two individuals were arrested on Tuesday in connection to the occurrence.
According to a report about the crash, the person driving the Dodge Charger, which was traveling at a significantly high speed, is believed to be a 26-year-old named Juan Valladares.
Accompanying him was Marina Mirabella, also 26, who was a passenger in the vehicle. The pair left the accident scene, but the empty car was discovered shortly thereafter. The man even attempted to falsely report the car as stolen to the police.
Valladares and Mirabella were driving in the middle lane on Military Trail, heading towards an intersection. The victim, Ramon Alonso-Castellon, aged 54, was walking just north of the Forest Hill Boulevard intersection.
The Dodge car hit the 54-year-old man, throwing him onto the car’s hood, then into the windshield, and finally onto the road. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead on-site.
After the collision, the pair drove away in a northern direction. However, the car was located shortly afterward off Forest Lane, positioned just east of Military Trail.
As the investigation proceeded, Valladares eventually confessed to being the driver responsible for the collision and subsequently fleeing the scene.
Mirabella has been accused of obstructing justice, while Valladares faces charges of vehicular homicide, DUI vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run resulting in death, and obstructing justice, according to official records.
Both individuals were taken into custody during the afternoon on Tuesday and have been placed in Palm Beach County Jail.
